“Fake LinkedIn profiles can have several hundred connections already, as well as a handful of Skill Endorsements. They also usually belong to several groups and follow a couple of companies and influencers” - LinkedIn

In the UK recently, it was revealed that as many as 10 000 government employees had been tricked into revealing sensitive information by fake Linkedin profiles. So here are five ways to tell if a profile is genuine or not:

1. A profile pic that is obviously a stock photo

Fake profiles often use pics of incredibly good-looking people, such as models or even lesser-known celebrities.

2. A name that sounds or looks “dodgy”

Look out for names spelled either all in caps, or all in lower case, or ones that look deliberately misspelled, such as “saarah” or “JUULIE.”

3. Being generic

Generic sounding job descriptions, lots of different jobs in a large number of industries, frequent or large gaps in employment.

4. Number of connections

Very few connections and/or connections that are either all male or all female (and who all have very good-looking profile pics).

5. Lack of info

No personal information or recommendations and no activity on the platform).

With LinkedIn your network is really your net worth - so please take care, and always take the time to check out someone’s profile before accepting a connection request.

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