noes16 t1_jabtpd8 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 8:21 AM

Reply to comment by Ma1nta1n3r in Moldova expels 2 foreigners caught in 'destabilization' plot by NCGuy257

Who they are and false passports? :) I agree that they use fake passports, but other than the basics, like height and gender, nothing else is real on the fake passports? Photos are nice, but they aren't searchable (without access to Russian databases, or previous encounters with foreign intelligence).

Syracuss t1_jabupdo wrote on February 28, 2023 at 8:35 AM

You say that, but an entire spy ring got caught because they'd use consecutive passport numbers: https://thedebrief.org/russian-spy-successfully-infiltrated-nato-command-circles-reveals-stunning-report/

> Critically, Bellingcat and The Insider also exposed a massive GRU counterintelligence failure in that agency had been issuing consecutively numbered passports to its undercover spies. This meant that investigative journalists, foreign security agencies, or anyone for that matter, could acquire data frequently leaked onto Russia’s black market to uncover other embedded spies.

So it can be valuable, even when it's all fake