Our colleagues are looking out for us. James Usypchuk and others posting tips on how to spot scammers on Linkedin and what to do about them. And another great convo I sat in on Blab with LI specialists Viveka von Rosen, Bruce Johnston, Con Sweeney and Andy Foote.
You may have noticed a surge in invitations from too-good-to-be true individuals. Here are 3 take-aways from the Blab session to keep in mind, in your day2day:
- Fake accounts may have many connections in common with you. Why is that? We may be accepting invites with little vetting. We look at the number/quality of common connections, the profile pic, and voila, we fall into the trap. And by the same token, we sway others to follow suit, without knowing. [Note: Last year, I posted a blurb on sure indicators to look out for when accepting invites, one being the quantity/quality of common connections…Sorry everyone, but this indicator is not as strong today.]
- Fake accounts can be be dormant because all they’re doing is “harvestingyour email” or any other connection point. Notice a surge in your spam folder lately? Check who you’ve accepted here on Linkedin and do your diligence. Definitely worth your time.
- Fake accounts have many connections (500+ is not uncommon) and even recommendations from the fake peers. They are an organized network of scammers across the globe out to get your data and growing stronger by the minute.
This is a serious problem calling for serious vetting. Sure, you can report the misfits to Linkedin but my guess is, they’re flooded with such demands and can hardly keep up.
We all need to pitch in the vetting process: report, block, and let others know they may be getting scammed. Here’s to keeping Linkedin a quality network.
Anything to add? Right here in the comment section.
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