How To Guide: Identify A Fake LinkedIn User #agencypublisher

Following on from my recent Live Blog with Chris J Reed: 10 Top Tips for How to Use LinkedIn (and some for what not to do) #agencypublisher, comes the next in a series of simple, practical and easy-to-use LinkedIn Tips.

This post will help you to identify a fake LinkedIn user, using:

1. Image Search
2. Review Connections
3. Background Experience
4. Group Membership
5. Engagement

1.  Image Search

Profile pictures are easily stolen from other sources (thanks Google image search).

What you can do: Right-click (or Control-click) the profile pic and select 'Copy Image URL'. Then go to Google image search - images.google.com. Click the little camera icon in the search bar and paste the address (URL) of the image into the box. Then click 'Search By Image'. If you see a lot of scam warnings and names unrelated to the name on the profile account, you're looking at a fake account. 

What should you do: Reject the connection.

2. Review Connections

If the profile image seems to checkout, the next step is to look at their connections. If they have a surprisingly low number of connections it's likely they are a fake account. But even if they have a large number of connections and you have connections in common, they could be fake if all their connections come from a variety of places around the world.

What you can do: Look for patterns in their connections. If they seem random, they're more likely to be fake. 

And remember, when it comes to connections in common, it's always possible that someone you know hasn't done their homework on a connection. (I'll put my hand up here and say there are some people I've accepted as connections on the basis of connections in common. I'm fairly sure not all of them are real.)

What should you do: Check with your connections you have in common, and see if they have had any interaction with the person. If in doubt, reject.

3. Background Experience 

If the person requesting a connection has only worked at one or two companies in their life and the location of the companies for which they work doesn't match the location of their education, it's more likely to be a fake account. This doesn't mean that everyone works in the same city or country as the place they were educated, but it can be a red flag. 

What you can do: Does the location of the companies they have worked for match their education location?

What should you do: If the background looks scant and the education doesn't fit the job, then reject.

4. Group Membership

Fake profiles rarely join groups, and if they do join a few, they have zero
interaction in those groups. If you can't find evidence of user activity, they may not be a real user.

What should you do: Reject, reject, reject.

5. Engage - Challenge them

When you receive a fake profile request it's usually because a company behind the profile wants to sell you something.

What you can do: Ask them how you met or what they want in a message, rather than accepting the invitation. If they don't answer, or if the answer is insufficient for your purposes, then take the greatest pleasure in clicking that little cross beside their profile and REJECT!

Use these 5 simple tips to make smart, meaningful connections, understand the rules of engagement and remember your its your brand! 

If you have any further tips, please feel free to share in comments below.