Don't get fooled by a fake profile!!

[October 2022 updated with latest LinkedIn anti-fake and spam features*]

Fake accounts are getting harder to spot on LinkedIn. I want to share with you two examples one of which was part of a scam that saw a close friend lose more than ￡100,000 GBP ($120,000).

How to spot (most) fake accounts

As a rule of thumb many fake profiles share several of these features:

• An attractive photo*
• A small number of connections
• A headline, about and experience sections that are missing or don't quite hang together
• Listed education/qualifications that do not seem relevant
• Little or no activity
• Few or no endorsements and recommendations

*If you are suspicious about an account you can do a free reverse image search of the photo using TinEye.com or a Google Image Search . If you find the same photo being used for other accounts, then you can be 99% confident that this is a fake account.

A reverse image search is the simplest and quickest way to check out an account but it's not foolproof.

But sometimes you have to look deeper

In Erica's case she has over 2,000 connections, the photo appears to be unique, and she has been posting regularly on a range of general interest topics from hummingbirds to flamenco - but nothing HR related. The content is sourced from popular sites like BBC, CNN and Forbes.

Her current position at Intuit is shown as finishing in February 2022 with no employment updates since then, even though as noted she is actively posting every few days.

She has 5 skills listed which seem relevant to her role but only 1 endorsement all from the same person - a business analyst in India. Her profile lists 56 group memberships almost all are IT and software development - only one group was HR related.

The biggest red flag for me was her experience section. She had gone from Office Manager at Verizon to Talent to Equity Director at Intuit. That seemed to me like a hell of a leap. It must have been the world's best job interview.

I am 90% confident this is a fake profile. I decided to reply to Erica's invitation with a message but to date have received no reply.

I spent 30 minutes investigating this profile. Most people wouldn't have the time to do that which is probably why she has more than 2,000

Fig 1: Suspicious Experience Section

connections. And the more connections you have the more reassuring for anyone who receives an invite from her.

To add to her credibility she had sent me a friendly (but general) personal message with her connection invitation, almost certainly sent with automated software.

Fig 2: Friendly connection invitation message

LinkedIn rolls out new anti-fake and spam features*

On October 25th in response to a dramatic rise in fraudulent activity on the platform LinkedIn has begun rolling out important extra features to protect members:

About this profile LinkedIn will in future provide information (e.g. in the "More" menu on the page) about when a profile was created and last updated, along with whether the member has verified a phone number and/or work email associated with their account.?See example:

Fig 2: LinkedIn will provide extra information about each profile history and status

Eventually this information will also be available with each message or invitation.

Enhanced photo verification - a new deep learning AI model is being introduced to more effectively identify photos that have been generated synthetically, which most fake profiles are.

Warnings about suspicious messages - LinkedIn will begin adding warnings to message from profiles that fit a suspicious pattern e.g. promoting cryptocurrency or asking members to go to a third party platform.

What's the point of creating a fake account?

Fake accounts are created to steal money or data from unsuspecting LinkedIn members and their network. There may be a tiny number of fake accounts created with no nefarious intent, but the people behind the vast majority and it is a vast number are organised criminal gangs and sometimes rogue governments.

Check out this table from the LinkedIn Transparency Report for the period July-Dec 2021.

Fig 3: LinkedIn Fake Account Statistics

That is pretty mind blowing isn't it. In the period shown LinkedIn's automated defences blocked over 15m attempts to register fake accounts. A further 127,000 accounts were restricted following reports from members.

The sting

Let me show you another account. The person behind this was responsible for scamming a close friend out of ￡100,000. By the way my friend was retired so that is not money that can be replaced.

Meet Mr David Green, Chief Investment Officer with The Financial Centre.

Fig 4: David Green Chief Investment Officer

As with Erica, David's photo doesn't show up in TinEye as an obvious fake.

His About section states:

"I want to help the average ordinary person build a long-term successful investment portfolio while removing as much of the stress and overwhelm as possible."

and he promises:

"My team provides you with the investment system, manuals, tools, resources, and all the support you need to kick-start your Cryptocurrency/stock holdings and assure you’re on a path to success."

He has 600+ connections and lists impressive previous roles with Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo.

Fig 5: David Green's Experience Section

More than 14 years at Merrill Lynch, that is impressive. This guy has got a lot of credibility, or does he?

This is where I need to give you some more background because the LinkedIn profile is just one part of sophisticated scam that unfolded over several months. My friend was originally contacted by phone I believe and offered an opportunity to invest a relatively small but not insignificant amount in a cryptocurrency. The investment made a spectacularly good return. He was then invited to invest a large amount in another scheme.

I am not going to go into any more details here except to say that when he tried to take the money out there were endless technical reasons why that was not possible.

In this case the LinkedIn profile played a relatively small part giving extra credibility to David Green's persona. It's quite possible however that other people were approached directly through LinkedIn.

It would be difficult based on the LinkedIn profile alone to decide that he was not legit. My friend could have contacted Merrill Lynch and asked if they ever had a David Green working for them but where to start - there are over 43,000 employees listed on LinkedIn. Even if Merrill Lynch were sympathetic would they be prepared to disclose personal information to an outsider.

LinkedIn provides the perfect veneer of respectability.

How did I know it was fake?

The current company does not exist at the address on the website. Mr Green was previously listed as Chief Financial Investor for the Investment Centre, a firm that appears on the Financial Conduct Authority's Warning List. I also had an opportunity to sit in on a call with Mr Green and witnessed first-hand his manipulative tactics.

How can you be sure a profile is not fake?

The truth is there is no 100% guaranteed way to know. Scammers have got smarter so it's harder to quickly spot a fake. Hopefully, this article has given you some extra tips on how to check.

LinkedIn's latest anti-fake/scam features* are very welcome and will give members more information to decide which invitations/messages to accept. In introducing these features LinkedIn is tacitly acknowledging that it is impossible to screen out these threats at source, it's a case of members beware.

Beyond that, the old adage remains true if someone approaches you with an offer that sounds too good to be true then it almost certainly is.

What is your experience of fake profiles on LinkedIn? Have you or someone you know been scammed by a fake social media account? Are you confident you would recognise a fake LinkedIn account?

Stay safe.

More about Greg

Greg Cooper ?is a LinkedIn specialist and a volunteer mentor for the Prince's Trust based in Bristol, UK. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing. For over twenty years Greg ran an award-winning direct marketing agency working with leading technology companies like IBM, SAP, and Siemens.?

Greg provides personalised 121 LinkedIn training for small businesses.

The Prince's Trust ?works with young people, providing free training to help them build confidence, develop their skills, and start a business.