BLUF
Get useful information about a subject’s itinerary, company’s pending trade agreement, criminal’s earlier activities, and more. This technique is used to covertly collect information in fragments from suspects, witnesses, experts, and other targeted individuals in a relatively short amount of time. The tactic should be employed in a manner where the subject doesn’t realize your intent. When the 1 to 3 minute conversation is completed, the subject shouldn’t believe they provided any vital intel nor should they think they were questioned. The interaction is best completed at a natural idle area such as a bus stop, elevator, line at a coffee shop, waiting room, etc.
Start with a generalized conversation. Macro means keeping the topics broad and socially acceptable. Obviously, the topic should be appropriate in time, location, and delivery. It should be delivered naturally and open-ended to elicit further conversation. Weather, sports, or popular news headlines may be appropriate but should lead into your “purposeful” micro questioning. The idea is to exchange pleasantries, build rapport, and maintain anonymity about the true topic you aim to target.
Examples: “Man, this bus is always late.” | “Have you tried their cappuccino before?” | “Did they ever catch the guy that was breaking into these apartments?”
Micro
This is where you focus on a specific topic. You’d be surprised how personal you can get without raising suspicion. Micro means small and exact subjects that you couldn’t ask directly without first building rapport and relevance. Work with the natural direction of the exchange. Don’t be afraid to move back to macro topics or end the conversation if it’s likely to give away your intent.
Examples: “Do you work in this building?” | [at a bar] “Yeah, would you believe the bartender last week thought my ID was fake, I ran it through the wash by accident and I guess it changed the color, here you got yours with you? Take a look at the difference.” [Now you’ve got his PII.] | “I couldn’t find anywhere to park. Do you know if they actually check tickets at the parking garage across the street?”
This article was originally written by the Grayman Briefing. Stay in the know. Sign up for Intel and Situational Awareness alerts pushed to your phone on emerging threats and preparedness warnings. Click HERE to subscribe to the Grayman Briefing.
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