56% businesses report at least one scam a year on LinkedIn: Report

A recent report has shown that nearly 56 per cent of businesses on the platform have experienced at least one scam this year

Fake job offers and phishing scams are becoming more prevalent on LinkedIn, with 56 per cent of businesses worldwide having experienced at least one LinkedIn scam this year, according to a recent report.

The scams can be categorised into two main types: those targeting individuals by pretending to be LinkedIn users and those operating at the company level by impersonating existing organisations to gain credibility.

The most popular type of scam on LinkedIn is the fake job offer, accounting for 48 per cent of reported cases. Additionally, 48 per cent of victims cited a damaged reputation as the leading outcome of falling for these scams. 

These findings were revealed by NordLayer, a network security solution for businesses. 

The study found that 45 per cent of companies are aware of scammers on LinkedIn using their organisation's brand name.

The report explains that LinkedIn's main purpose in building professional networks and careers creates an ideal environment for scammers to post seemingly legitimate job offers in order to collect personal information or money. With 117 job applications submitted per second on the platform, fraudsters exploit this high activity to their advantage.

LinkedIn phishing is another common scam, where actors impersonate well-known companies or professionals using fake profiles to send unsolicited messages or emails, seeking sensitive information.

The research data reveals that over one-third of survey respondents were aware of multiple LinkedIn fraud cases using their organisation's name. Interestingly, smaller companies reported the least active scam outreach, with 52 per cent of respondents confirming that no one in their organisation had experienced such scams. 

However, the report also highlights that organisations with LinkedIn company profiles may have a higher likelihood of encountering such scams, with 47 per cent of respondents indicating that their employees were likely to be engaged in these schemes.