A recent report from Check Point Research has unveiled a startling statistic: nearly half of all phishing attacks worldwide involve impersonations of LinkedIn, the business platform owned by Microsoft.
Scammers often exploit LinkedIn by targeting individuals who are seeking new job opportunities or career changes. While emails with subjects like "You have 1 new invitation" or "Your profile has been viewed by 63 people" may seem 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, embedding links to fraudulent LinkedIn pages designed to steal your information as soon as you enter it.
Cybercriminals also create fake profiles to message users about job opportunities. Once they have your interest, they might request a small payment upfront for processing your application (which you will never see again) or direct you to fill out a form that is actually a disguised phishing link.
LinkedIn is aware of these issues and is actively working on developing advanced security features to safeguard its users. Here are three of the current security measures it has already implemented:
Suspicious Message Warnings: LinkedIn employs advanced technology to identify messages from individuals attempting to lure you off the platform or conveying potentially inappropriate content. When such messages are detected, LinkedIn will notify you with a warning.
Do you use LinkedIn to find jobs, employees, or clients? It's a valuable business resource, but maintaining security is crucial. While LinkedIn's features provide a first line of defense, consider whether your internal security measures are robust enough to protect your network if someone in your organization falls for a scam and clicks a malicious link.
Profile Information: This feature provides detailed insights into a person's profile, helping you decide whether to respond to a message, accept a connection request, trust an offer, and more. By clicking "More" on a profile and selecting "About this profile" from the drop-down menu, you can access information such as:
Profile Verification: This feature enables you to authenticate your profile's legitimacy. By submitting an additional form of identification, you can obtain a verification badge, signifying to viewers that your profile is genuine. This is particularly useful since scammers often create new profiles that get quickly shut down, making it less likely for them to maintain updated information.
- Profile creation date.
- Last update date.
- Phone number verification status.
- Association of a work email with the account.
4. AI-Generated Profile Picture Detection: Scammers frequently use AI to create realistic profile pictures of fictitious individuals, which are then used to set up fraudulent profiles. LinkedIn's research has shown that users often cannot distinguish between real and AI-generated faces. To combat this, LinkedIn has partnered with academic institutions to develop sophisticated detection features that identify and remove AI-generated profile pictures before they can cause harm.
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