

Newspaper outraged after FBI create[ed] fake Seattle Times page to nab suspect - privong
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/10/newspaper-outraged-as-fbi-creates-fake-seattle-times-page-to-nab-suspect/

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anigbrowl
So the FBI spoofed one specific individual with a phishing attack using a fake
Seattle Times link? That's a big Meh in my book.

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dmschulman
Care to elaborate?

The individual in question is a minor, the act damages the reputation of a
legitimate news organization (a business, which by the way, lives and dies on
public trust and the notion of truth), the ruse was aided by the US Attorney's
Office.

It's not a PRISM leak by any stretch of the imagination but surly this
registers a little above "meh" on your apathy-o-meter.

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anigbrowl
I don't see any constitutional prohibition on sting operations against a crime
suspect who's a minor. I disagree that it damages the reputation of the
Seattle Times - not least because this information has been public for ~3
years, during which time you might have expected some measurable impact if
that fear was well-grounded.

Law enforcement is well known to carry out undercover investigations during
which law enforcement officers pretend to be someone else, or mislead people
about their real intention. A classic example is offering a a suspect a drink
out of apparent courtesy, with the real intention being to harvest the
suspect's fingerprints/DNA from the drinking vessel. As long as the deception
does not involve an inducement to illegal activity then I don't really have a
problem with it. Deception as an investigative tool has long been considered
acceptable by the courts as long as it does not 'shock the conscience' or
involve a violation of the penal code.
[http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8766034093838378...](http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8766034093838378014&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr)
(Frazier v. Cupp, 1969)

As an analogy, suppose you had a phone number for a criminal suspect. Would it
be OK to call and say 'Hi, I work for the Seattle Times and I'd like to offer
our newspaper free for two weeks, are you interested?' (this is a popular
sales pitch with my local newspapers). If the person says yes and gives out an
address and police start staking out that location (and delivering a copy of
the newspaper every day), I don't think any court would have a problem with
that.

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edwhitesell
I'm pretty sure Law Enforcement Agencies have apprehended suspects with a
similar scheme. "Hey, come down to our car dealership, you've won a new car!"

