It has been reported that social media company LinkedIn has introduced a series of new features aimed at fighting fake profiles and malicious use of the platform. The firm made the announcement in a blog post on Tuesday, where it unveiled three new security-focused capabilities.
The previous algorithms designed to spot fake profile have not always been accurate enough to weed out the fraudulent or bot accounts leaving many people none the wiser to who they are in contact with. However, by adding work email addresses to authenticate the profile adds a layer of validation to the profile allowing people to see genuine profiles. Fake accounts can be used in a variety of different ways including potential hacking via communications with targets in attempts to find out information or plant malware. If contacts within LinkedIn’s messaging service request to take the conversation off the platform, it is often a signal that something is up but this new security on offer will highlight this to protect users and their businesses and mitigate this increasing risk.
Fake and cloned accounts are common on LinkedIn, so it’s good to see the company taking steps to combat them. These accounts can be used to scam or phish both individuals and organizations on LinkedIn. They are responsible for astroturfing (e.g. fraudulently hyping up a cryptocurrency under someone else’s name), scam job ads, or phishing executives and HR departments for money and access credentials, among other attacks. By showing users when a profile was created and last updated, they’ll be able to better discern whether the account is legitimate. Knowing that an account was created two days ago can tip users off to a potential scam.
Applaud any efforts to cut down on the fake and cloned accounts that proliferate on social networks like LinkedIn. Battling these types of accounts is especially important on a business-oriented network like LinkedIn, as not only can these accounts be used for unsavoury actions like phishing and scams, they can also be used to damage someone’s reputation among possible business partners and employers. The ability to see when a profile was created or updated will allow users to detect these scam accounts, as if you know that you’ve been communicating with Chris Hauk on the network for numerous years and you see what is supposedly his account and was created last week, that will certainly raise some red flags.
The previous algorithms designed to spot fake profile have not always been accurate enough to weed out the fraudulent or bot accounts leaving many people none the wiser to who they are in contact with. However, by adding work email addresses to authenticate the profile adds a layer of validation to the profile allowing people to see genuine profiles. Fake accounts can be used in a variety of different ways including potential hacking via communications with targets in attempts to find out information or plant malware. If contacts within LinkedIn’s messaging service request to take the conversation off the platform, it is often a signal that something is up but this new security on offer will highlight this to protect users and their businesses and mitigate this increasing risk.
Fake and cloned accounts are common on LinkedIn, so it’s good to see the company taking steps to combat them. These accounts can be used to scam or phish both individuals and organizations on LinkedIn. They are responsible for astroturfing (e.g. fraudulently hyping up a cryptocurrency under someone else’s name), scam job ads, or phishing executives and HR departments for money and access credentials, among other attacks. By showing users when a profile was created and last updated, they’ll be able to better discern whether the account is legitimate. Knowing that an account was created two days ago can tip users off to a potential scam.
Applaud any efforts to cut down on the fake and cloned accounts that proliferate on social networks like LinkedIn. Battling these types of accounts is especially important on a business-oriented network like LinkedIn, as not only can these accounts be used for unsavoury actions like phishing and scams, they can also be used to damage someone’s reputation among possible business partners and employers. The ability to see when a profile was created or updated will allow users to detect these scam accounts, as if you know that you’ve been communicating with Chris Hauk on the network for numerous years and you see what is supposedly his account and was created last week, that will certainly raise some red flags.