A recent report from Check Point Research revealed a shocking statistic – LinkedIn is impersonated in nearly half of all phishing attacks globally.
Scammers often target job seekers or those considering a career change. While emails like “You have 1 new invitation” or “Your profile has been viewed by 63 people” can be genuine, it’s crucial to verify the sender’s email address to ensure it is truly from LinkedIn. Impersonators send emails that look identical to real ones, with links to fake LinkedIn pages designed to steal your information.
Another tactic used by cybercriminals involves creating fake profiles and messaging people about job opportunities. Once you’re interested, they might ask for a small payment to process your application (which you’ll never see again) or send you a phishing link disguised as a form.
LinkedIn is aware of these issues and has developed advanced security features to protect its users. Here are four essential security features you should use:
- Suspicious Message Warnings – LinkedIn’s technology can detect messages from people trying to take you off the platform or saying something potentially inappropriate and will send you a warning notification.
- Profile Verification – This feature allows you to verify your page’s authenticity. By submitting an additional form of ID, you can get a verification badge on your profile, so anyone who looks at it knows you are who you say you are. This is valuable since scammers often create new pages quickly and don’t keep information up-to-date.
- Profile Information – This feature lets you see details of a person’s profile to help you decide whether to respond to a message, accept a connection request, or trust an offer. Under your profile, click “More” and select “About this profile” to see information like:
- 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 e-mail associated with their account.
- AI-Generated Profile Picture Detection – Scammers use AI to create realistic profile pictures of fake people. LinkedIn’s research showed that users often can’t distinguish real faces from these AI-generated ones. LinkedIn has partnered with academia to develop detection features that find and shut down profiles with AI-generated pictures before they cause problems.
Do you use LinkedIn to find jobs, employees, or clients? It’s a great resource for business but staying secure is crucial. LinkedIn’s features are just the first line of defense. If someone in your organization falls for a scam and clicks a bad link, would your internal security solutions be enough to protect your network?
We can help you find out. We offer a FREE Security Risk Assessment to help you determine if your network is vulnerable to any type of attack. To book yours, call us at 502-305-7590 or click here to book now.
