Informant

An informant is someone who secretly conveys information to an organization that is operating in contrast to the individual or groups of individuals that the informant is working with. An informant may be paid for their services in any number of ways, including cash or services, protection or, in the case of known criminals, special privileges or leniency on their imprisonment. Common nicknames used to describe informants are snitches, rats or moles.

In film, informants usually appear in movies of the crime drama genre. For example, in the 2006 Martin Scorcese movie The Departed, the character of Irish-American crime boss Frank Costello was secretly working as an informant for the FBI.