3.31.22 A Study of Fake Profiles on LinkedIn
Dear Students,
Occasionally, in the interest of prevention, it’s important to make you aware of potentially-concerning issues, and thus this post.
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/27/1088140809/fake-linkedin-profiles
In this fascinating, yet somewhat spooky piece from the respected source National Public Radio, we learn that there are currently many fake profiles on LinkedIn (and perhaps elsewhere) that may be used in potentially dangerous ways. It’s therefore in your best interest to gain a sense of what to look out for, in case you are contacted to connect with and/or provide any personal information to an “individual” who might match such descriptions. Although fake profiles seem to be most-commonly used for sales purposes, they are also being used for phishing, which is occurring with increasing frequency (according to one source, growing by 400% year over year).
As the article states, “A recent study found that faces made by AI have become “indistinguishable” from real faces. People have just a 50% chance of guessing correctly whether a face was created by a computer — no better than flipping a coin.” The writer also mentions that “LinkedIn removed more than 15 million fake accounts in the first six months of 2021.”
Make sure to take the time to carefully review photos and profiles before engaging with strangers – and especially before sharing personal information like email addresses – on LinkedIn. We want all of you to have positive experiences with Western professional social networking sources!