Most of us don’t view cyber security on LinkedIn™ as much of a risk. We view LinkedIn™ as a relatively benign platform (depending on who’s in your network, of course) and feel safe there. Unlike platforms known for their vicious trolling, like X.
We feel safe because people show up as their real selves, not hiding behind avatars. This isn’t always the case of course and while not all fake profiles are obvious, most are.
But for a long time, scammers have been working in the shadows. One particular target has been job-seekers who may unsuspectingly click malicious links contained in job advertisements – or what look like job advertisements.
The most recent iteration of this is a LinkedIn™ InMail purporting to be from Amazon or Deloitte and offering ‘an exciting opportunity to collaborate with Deloitte’s leadership team’. Convincingly presented and flattering, this is likely to catch many in its net.
Job scams are only one type of scam, of course. Another is the hacking of accounts, one reason why LinkedIn™ introduced two-factor authentication – to help keep members safe. If someone gets access to your LinkedIn™ account, they get access to all your content, all your connections and followers, and of course your profile. Imagine the reputational damage they could do!
Many automation products now on the market to entice LinkedIn™ users with promises of huge network growth, viral post reach and much else, require access to your account. Once they have that, they can do whatever they like and you have very little recourse. This is how pods work.
The level of safety we once enjoyed on LinkedIn™ is no longer real. What is real is the danger.
Now, this warning shouldn’t make you paranoid. But it should make you consider carefully any interactions you have that are out of the ordinary, from people you don’t know or that look too good to be true.
This is not confined to LinkedIn™, of course. You should be wary of any interactions, even from people you know, on any platform – especially if they come out of the blue, contain links, claim to urgently need help (usually financial) or anything else that raises a red flag for you.
None of us can afford to take our cyber security lightly, least of all on LinkedIn™.