A recent report from Check Point Research reveals a startling statistic – nearly half of all phishing attacks globally impersonate LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned business platform.
Scammers often exploit LinkedIn to target job seekers or those contemplating a career change. While emails like “You have 1 new invitation” or “Your profile has been viewed by 63 people” can appear legitimate, it’s crucial to verify the sender’s email address to ensure it’s genuinely from LinkedIn. Impersonators send emails that look identical to real ones, with links to fake LinkedIn pages designed to steal your information.
Cybercriminals also create fake LinkedIn profiles to message people about job opportunities. Once they have your attention, they might request a small upfront payment to process your application (which you’ll never see again) or send you a link to a form that’s actually a phishing link in disguise.
LinkedIn is aware of these issues and is developing advanced security features to protect its users. Here are three current security features:
Suspicious Message Warnings – LinkedIn’s technology detects messages from individuals attempting to take you off the platform or saying something potentially inappropriate, and sends you a warning notification.
Profile Verification – This feature allows you to verify your profile’s authenticity. By submitting an additional form of ID, you can get a verification badge on your profile, indicating to others that you are who you say you are. This is valuable because scammers often create new profiles quickly as their old ones are shut down, so they rarely keep their information up-to-date.
Profile Information – You can view details about a person’s profile to help you decide whether to respond to a message, accept a connection request, or trust an offer. By clicking “More” and selecting “About this profile” from the drop-down menu, you’ll see information such as:
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- When the profile was created
- When the profile was last updated
- Whether the member has verified a phone number
- Whether the member has a work email associated with their account
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AI-Generated Profile Picture Detection – Scammers use AI to generate realistic profile pictures of fake people. LinkedIn’s research showed users often couldn’t visually distinguish real faces from these synthetically generated ones. In response, LinkedIn has partnered with academia to develop advanced detection features that identify and remove AI-generated profile pictures before they can cause harm.
Do you use LinkedIn to find jobs, employees, or clients? While LinkedIn is a valuable resource for business, it’s essential to stay secure. LinkedIn’s features are just the first line of defense. If someone in your organization were to fall for a scam and click a bad link, would your internal security solutions be sufficient to protect your network?
We can help you find out. We offer a FREE Security Risk Assessment to determine if your network is vulnerable to any attacks. To book yours, call us at 512-662-1902 or click here to book now.