An Open Letter to Jeff Weiner

Hey Jeff,

After I walked away from my twenty-five-year career in 2018, I became active on LinkedIn. My “I QUIT” story is here.

Unlike others looking for jobs, I was simply sharing my story. With the help of my nine-year-old son, I uploaded my first YouTube video. It was getting tens of thousands of views. I thought other people could benefit from my extensive background in leadership, education and coaching so I started sharing videos on your platform.

The first 48 hours on LinkedIn were terrifying.

People started reaching out to connect and I began to accept them. Then the messages started rolling in. 

“Hey sexy!”

“How are you? Call me.”

“Why aren’t you calling me?”

“Call me.”

“Call me now!”

“NOW.”

“You’re hot.”

And on and on.

Here’s the thing Jeff, I’m a middle-aged mom of two. I uploaded a video on a BUSINESS platform, not a dating site. I was terrified and confused.

I was sick to my stomach, ready to delete my account.

I got to thinking. If I was at a job, and a coworker walked up to me and said those things, they’d be fired. I wasn’t going to let a few creeps stop me from sharing. So I persevered.

Over the last eighteen months, I’ve had people from all over the world reach out to connect. Most of them great, honest and hard working. However, there’s a trend you need to be aware of because your members are getting scammed and harassed at alarming rates. They aren’t speaking up or reporting because they are ashamed.

Shame keeps victims silent and abusers know it.

You have predators on your site Jeff Weiner. Actively seeking victims. They tried to get me but failed. Here’s how it went down.

First, a lady tried to befriend me. Commenting on my posts, acting like the topics I covered mattered to her. Under the guise of wanting to network, she sent me a link for a phone call, said, ”I’ve got an opportunity for us to collaborate”. It sounded legitimate. The call was a waste of time, nonsense. At the end, she throws in a sob story about her LinkedIn friend who needs money to feed his family.  

THE ALARM BELLS WENT OFF.

My initial reaction? If he needs to feed his family, tell him to get off LinkedIn video and get a job that pays his bills. She kept pressuring me. HIGH pressure, but I flat out told her, “NO”. Then I disconnected from her and blocked the guy she was seeking money for.

I’m a lucky one Jeff. I’m NOT vulnerable. I’ve got incredible friends, an awesome family, a career path that lights my soul on fire every single day. However many aren’t as lucky. 

I’ve lost track of the women who have reached out with the exact same story. Someone from LinkedIn begins interacting on their posts. They become “friends” and the next thing you know, a story ensues about an abusive childhood or a lousy marriage. Predators know how to create false intimacy and gain the trust of unsuspecting victims. Before they know it they’re handing over money, to someone they met on LinkedIn. These victims are lonely, out of work, recently divorced, suffering from depression or healing from trauma and abuse.

A woman reached out yesterday who lost $1,500. After berating herself for falling prey to him, she started Googling. He’s an ex-con and uses multiple names.

Another woman paid for a web designer she found on LinkedIn. The website turned out to be junk. He reached out and asked for more money... because he had to go to court. He has tens of thousands of LinkedIn followers so she thought he was legitimate.

Story after story and you need to be aware of it.

I’ve been told to “kill myself”, “just shut up”, I’ve been cursed at and called a “bimbo” on my posts.

I saw your interview on Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations. I know you adore your wife. Would you want her to endure these types of attacks on a business platform? 

Sexual harassment and scamming needs to be stopped.

Want to know what I do for a living? I help people live their best lives. I speak at women’s conferences and host Vision Board Masterclasses. I coach women on how to design a life that lights them up with joy. My messages are about building confidence and courage. About the importance of empathy and kindness. I talk about how a deep sense of gratitude will change your life. 

Every month I’m the Life Coach on Fox40 news. Uplifting You is a makeover show from the INSIDE out for deserving women in our community. We’ve featured widows, breast cancer survivors and women in law-enforcement

I host fundraisers and raise thousands of dollars for different non-profits like The Josh Powell Foundation.

I’m launching a wine label with two lifelong friends called everyGAL, it’s bottled to INSPIRE. One dollar of every bottle sold is going to Alaina’s Voice, the non-profit our friends started after their daughter Alaina was murdered in 2018 during a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks.

I’m a leadership consultant to one of the most successful pediatric dentists in Northern California with my business Keys to Courage.

Jeff Weiner, I’m doing GOOD THINGS in my business and life and having to deal with harassment and scammers on your platform.

The latest? I found out my name is floating around on some list of people to block on LinkedIn. This is slander and libel.

Your reporting process needs updating. 

You need a two strikes you’re out clause to deter this from continuing.

We need to hold people accountable for their words and actions.

You need to invest in educational videos for those new to the platform warning them of the dangers here, because they don’t expect it. 

Your team needs a fraud awareness campaign so that unsuspecting people aren’t falling victim to the predators on your site.

People trust that your platform is full of legitimate people and it’s not true. They trust that if a LinkedIn member has 50,000+ followers they must have a good reputation. It’s not true. Give your members the confidence to REPORT and BLOCK. 

Jeff, this is an epidemic. On your platform. You need to know.

Please don’t turn a blind eye. Don’t have LinkedIn Help send me a link because the links are worthless when you need to tell your story. Most of the people who get scammed get blocked before they can even report.

Let me help your team clean up the garbage. You want people to WANT to be here. Women are leaving in droves, they don’t feel safe. I’m sure men are getting scammed but they are less likely to report or speak up, due to shame.

Please have someone reach out to me. Let me help you make change happen.

Sincerely,

Amy Perkins

Thank you to Seth Godin for continuing to encourage me to do work that matters and to Laura Belgray for teaching me to write copy worth reading.