they're playing games, alright, but maybe for good reasons....
That is EXACTLY what I am saying.
Remember, the NSA and others have excellent facial recognition software. They have access to all drivers license photos. What people are taking hours to do on the internet, they can do in minutes.
So you've identified a dozen or so “persons of interest.” Yet your preliminary investigations seems to leave every one of them cleared. You're pretty sure the guilty one(s) are in this group. What to do?
Spook ‘em. Tell the press you've got them, tell the press an arrest is imminent. The innocent parties will think nothing of it. The one(s) that run are probably guilty.
While it is creating a lot of confusion, I think it is pretty smart.