Ex-Russian ‘Seduction Spy’ Spills Secrets: How Agents Seduce Silicon Valley Geeks for Classified Intel

A former Russian intelligence officer has lifted the lid on how spies are trained to use charm, romance, and manipulation to gather sensitive information from unsuspecting targets.

Aliia Roza, who defected to the United States in 2020, says she was part of a covert training program in Russia that relied on "sexpionage," operations built around seduction and emotional control.

According to Roza, many of the targets are high-value individuals in the technology sector, including engineers and executives. She says these operations often unfold long before the victim realizes they have been drawn into an espionage web.

"They see the target, they need to get information," Roza told The Post. "They need to manipulate the target, emotions, feelings, or whatever they can do, they will do it."

Russia and China's Covert Seduction Operations

According to a New York Post report, Roza claimed that both Russia and China actively run secret programs using attractive operatives to ensnare technology professionals.

She warned that such tactics provide these nations with "an asymmetric advantage" over the United States, which she said avoids similar strategies.

Roza emphasized that the U.S. focuses instead on protecting "human rights." She accused Russian and Chinese agencies of exploiting both their targets and their agents.

She said operatives "manipulate their targets in a really bad way" and often view their spies as disposable.

The Psychology Behind the Seduction Trap

Roza explained that agents never approach their targets randomly. The process is calculated and follows a step-by-step strategy.

"You first appear in their life, seven times, to be exact, before making contact," she said. "You might show up at their coffee shop, their gym, or just keep liking their posts. When you finally meet, their brain already trusts you."

She described the first stage as "love bombing," where the operative floods the target with compliments, flirty messages, and personal photos.

"It starts with love bombing, messages full of compliments, selfies, bikini photos," Roza explained. "They pretend to be weak or alone: 'My parents were killed, I'm a student, I'm broke.' It triggers the hero instinct. Every man wants to feel like the rescuer."

Another method, known as the "milk technique," involves creating fake mutual connections to appear credible.

"The fake account follows your friends or family. This is done to build trust and credibility," she said.

Once the bond is formed, the agent begins sowing doubt.

"The agent makes you doubt yourself," Roza said. "She'll say, 'Your boss doesn't appreciate you; your colleagues use you.' It creates a bond where you feel you understand each other and the rest of the world is bad."

When Seduction Turns to Coercion

Over time, Roza said, these relationships shift from emotional manipulation to coercion.

"They'll create stress, fear of losing the relationship," she said. "'If you don't send this information right now, I'll disappear forever.' Under that emotional rush, people give up things they never would otherwise."

She noted that spies typically target single individuals who may be lonely or emotionally vulnerable.

"They would target someone who is single ... they don't have this relationship, so of course, they become, like, very weak targets," she explained.

Roza advised tech professionals to be alert to sudden romantic attention, especially when it comes with personal questions, casual name-dropping, or alcohol-fueled settings.