A recent report from Check Point Research has unveiled a startling statistic: nearly half of all global phishing attacks impersonate the Microsoft-owned business platform, LinkedIn.
One common tactic scammers use involves targeting individuals seeking new jobs or career changes. While emails such as "You have 1 new invitation" or "Your profile has been viewed by 63 people" may appear legitimate, it's crucial to verify the sender's email address to ensure it genuinely comes from LinkedIn. These impersonators craft emails that closely mimic authentic ones, directing recipients to fake LinkedIn pages designed to steal their information upon entry.
Another method cybercriminals employ is creating fake profiles to message users about job opportunities. Once they have your interest, they may request a small upfront payment to process your application (which you'll never see again) or send you a form to fill out, which is actually a disguised phishing link.
LinkedIn is aware of these issues and is actively developing advanced security features to protect its users. Here are three security measures currently in place:
- Suspicious Message Warnings - LinkedIn's technology can detect messages from people who are attempting to take you off the platform or are 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 a valuable feature since scammers are always looking for fresh targets and have pages that get shut down quickly, so they don't often bother keeping information up-to-date.
- Profile Information - This feature allows you to see the details of a person's profile to help you determine whether or not to respond to a message, accept a connection request, trust an offer, etc. Under your profile, if you click "More" and select "About this profile" from the drop-down menu, you'll 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 will use AI to generate realistic profile pictures of fake people to create fake profiles used to scam users. Scarily, LinkedIn's research showed that users were generally unable to visually distinguish real faces from these synthetically generated ones. As a result, LinkedIn partnered with Academia to develop and deploy advanced detection features that allow LinkedIn to detect AI-generated profile pictures and shut down their profiles before they cause problems.
Consequently, LinkedIn has partnered with academic institutions to develop and deploy advanced detection features, enabling the platform to identify and shut down profiles using AI-generated images before they can cause harm.
Do you use LinkedIn to find jobs, employees, or clients? While it's a valuable business resource, maintaining security is paramount. LinkedIn's features are just the first line of defense. If someone in your organization falls for a scam and clicks a malicious link, are your internal security solutions robust enough to protect your network?
We can help you find out. We'll do a FREE consult to help you determine if your network is vulnerable to any type of attack. To book yours, call us at 813-689-1950 or click here to book now.
