Approach by a hostile intelligence officer who misrepresents himself or herself as a citizen of a friendly country or organization. The person who is approached may give up sensitive information believing that it is going to an ally, not a hostile power.

When U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer John A. Walker first recruited Senior Chief Radioman Jerry A. Whitworth, for example, he told Whitworth that the material was for Jane's Fighting Ships, rather than the Soviet Union.

In another case, an American of Armenian ancestry was approached by an Armenian who claimed to be a distant relative. He claimed to need help in trying to reclaim lost Armenian lands from Turkey. He was actually an agent for the KGB who succeeded in getting classified information he would never have gotten if he had not raised a false flag.