The #1 LE scenario mongers need to be concerned about
It's been rightly pointed out that most of the time it's wives, girlfriends, and divorce attorneys who are the people we're trying to keep in the dark, none of whom have the power to issue subpoenas orr warrants. But in recent years it's become the case that more and more activity that was previously considered garden-variety prostitution has been reclassified as trafficking, which brings a higher level of jeopardy.
Actual human trafficking has very specific criteria, but that doesn't matter to LE and their media buddies. Using the trafficking label brings grant dollars into local LE budgets, raises the profile of local politicians, and increases traffic to media websites, so there's a built-in incentive to misclassify. That matters because trafficking elevates things to felony levels during the investigative stages, even if not a SINGLE trafficking charge is ever successfully proved at trial.
AMPs and agencies are the usual targets, and that's where some of the suggestions I made in my earlier post may prove helpful. If you recall last year's agency bust near Boston, which threatened to spill over into the DMV, many of the mongers were nailed by a combination of using their real number + explicit discussions of exchanging $ for sexual acts. They were the low hanging fruit. IIRC, there were many more suspects initially announced by LE than were eventually charged. IMO, once they had enough "slam dunk" cases, they'd made their point and didn't need to keep going.
Unfortunately for us, there's no way to know beforehand if an AMP or agency is on LE's 'trafficking' radar, as they're all potential targets. So the best thing a monger can do, if they frequent such establishments, is to not be the low-hanging fruit. And that's where good OPSEC pays dividends.
The most important OPSEC question
Is simply this: What would it take to ruin (or seriously disrupt) my life?
The answer will be different for everyone but will generally encompass two main categories: economic and non-economic. At the lower (more risk tolerant) end of the spectrum might be someone who is retired, unmarried, with no local family and not much going on in terms of local community involvement. This guy could literally get snatched up in an LE sting, have his mug shot published in the local rag, pay for a lawyer, fine, community service, whatever, and walk away at the end of it all flipping the bird to the system.
At the higher (least risk tolerant) end of the spectrum is the guy who's entire life will unravel with the slightest pull on a string. Married, or SO with whom he's financially entangled, young kids of child-support age, or older kids in college. Prominent in the community with a long way down if he falls from grace. Business or job he will likely lose and challenges finding equivalent employment in the future.
Most are somewhere in the middle, but it's my guess more are closer to #2 than they are to #1. And it never ceases to amaze me how many mongers who are in the #2 (less risk tolerant) half of the spectrum do things to shoot themselves in the foot, things that are completely under their control.
Things like giving PII and work info to an agency, or an indie who "requires it for her safety" as verification. Or inviting a provider he's never seen before to a hotel room he's rented in his own name using a personal or work credit card. Or visiting an AMP without some idea about the area, like the best place to park and how to approach with maximum privacy.
Again, everyone's different and that's why the answer to the question at the top of this post is so important. There are enough variables out there over which we have no control, like unexpectedly running into an acquaintance or relative from the other side of the country. All we can do is avoid getting lazy or complacent, stay a little bit paranoid, and pay attention to detail.
Many thanks to all the diligent OPSEC contributors.
P.S. Almost forgot one item that's more of an issue in the DMV than elsewhere in the country, that is the security clearance many jobs require as a condition of employment. Anyone who's ever been involved in that process knows that a clearance can be suspended or revoked for a whole range of reasons, no arrest required. There are many lawyers who specialize in trying get a clearance restored, but they're not cheap.
