Almost half of businesses in the UK (44 percent) experienced at least one LinkedIn scam this year, according to the research by NordLayer. The data indicates that the most affected tend to be big companies (65 percent), fake job offers are the most popular scam they encounter (63 percent), and damaged reputation, as well as stolen/damaged data (47 percent each) were the leading outcomes of LinkedIn scams.
500 companies in 3 countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada were surveyd. The samples were taken from non-governmental organizations operating in the services industry, and the target respondents were decision-makers (sole or partial) for IT-related acquisitions. Companies were divided into 3 main groups regarding size: 1 – 10 employees (small), 11-200 employees (medium), 201+ employees (large).
“Like in every social media platform, attackers and scammers seek information and money or ruin reputations. We know that employees are considered to be the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, and LinkedIn has millions of professional accounts, making it an even more appealing target for scammers. So no one should let their guard down, no matter how professional a message might look,” says Carlos Salas of NordLayer tells Digital Journal.
Salas continues: “Cyberattacks are a major threat to businesses of all sizes. However, big companies are often the most targeted due to their data and value. They also have larger networks and databases, making them vulnerable to attack if their security measures are not up to par. Hackers will often focus their efforts on these targets to maximize their rewards.”
In terms of business awareness, 1 in 2 UK companies (50 percent) said they are also aware of a scam on LinkedIn using their organization’s brand name. This type of scam was the most prevalent among big companies (53 percent), but it’s also common among smaller ones: 53 percent of these businesses indicated that this type of scam also happened to them. Only small companies noted that they almost never experience such scams (13 percent).
Research also shows that the most popular employee action against these scams in the UK was to inform the community about it with a post on social media (68%). Employees were also eager to contact LinkedIn administrators (66 percent) as well as distribute a press piece for journalists informing them about the incident (57 percent).
In terms of safeguards: “One of the best ways to protect your business from LinkedIn scams is to educate your employees about the types of scams that exist and how to recognize them. Also, encourage your employees to use two-factor authentication (2FA) on their LinkedIn accounts as well as verify requests for information”, says Salas.
He continues: “Finally, regularly monitor the activity on your business’s LinkedIn account. Look for any suspicious activity, such as unauthorized logins or changes to account information. If you notice signs that your business has been targeted by a LinkedIn scam, report the activity to LinkedIn immediately and take steps to secure your accounts and data.”
