Previously used in a professional environment,
LinkedIn is on its way to transforming itself into a social network for the general public, such as Facebook. This transformation is accompanied by the inevitable emergence of scams of all kinds.
The FBI has warned that fraudsters using LinkedIn to conduct cryptocurrency scams pose a “significant threat”
to the platform and its users.
“This type of fraudulent activity is significant,
and there are many potential victims, past and present,” Special Agent Sean Ragan told CNBC.
The business method requires several months of work for the scammer. The latter creates a fake LinkedIn profile and starts chatting with other users of the social network. After gaining the trust of his victims, he offers them to invest in a legitimate cryptocurrency platform, then transfer the funds to a site controlled by the fraudster.
The FBI has noticed a significant increase in this type of fraud, which is reminiscent of what can happen on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks where scammers push users to invest in fake crypto. LinkedIn has confirmed the increase in these scams and will strengthen its security policy, “which is very clear: Fraudulent activities, including financial scams, are not permitted.”
Both automated and manual security mechanisms are in place to detect fake accounts, misinformation, and fraud. But these operations are “extremely difficult” to carry out, admits Oscar Rodriguez, the company’s director of security. Last year, the platform deleted 32 million fake accounts.
LinkedIn also recommends not sending money to people you don’t know, and responding to messages from accounts with questionable spelling or grammatical errors. But for anyone who has fallen victim to these scams, these recommendations will not be of much help.
