Recently, a small business became entangled in the web of a LinkedIn security issue. Their experience serves up a cautionary tale to be diligent, protective and proactive about your presence and reputation on social networks. It is a reminder to all that while social networks allow for easier, faster, more efficient and effective methods of engagement, beware of the bumps in the road, littered with hackers, imposters, bots, and bureaucratic hurdles – enough for any company to rethink its commitment of time, money, and resources on social media. The LinkedIn security issue allows for a scam that could happen to any small business, and it happened to us, LGK.
The two LGK owners and its global strategist regularly post on LinkedIn and engage with fellow professionals. So you can only imagine the shock when the LGK company page suddenly featured two new employees. One, who identified as a co-owner from Houston/Richmond, Texas, and another, who identified as the “Office manadger”[sic] from Paris, France.
The fake Houston area co-owner even had the audacity to send a LinkedIn invitation to one of the actual owners of our small business.
What happened next was excruciating, a nearly four-week ordeal and a big headache, thanks to LinkedIn. Upon requesting LinkedIn to remove the two imposters – we contend they had to be fake profiles – LinkedIn responded that it would take 14 days to notify the “alleged infringer.” We were horrified by thoughts of damage to our reputation. What if the imposters attempted to use our company name to send messages, to recruit job seekers, or to engage with members of our network? We were at our wit’s end. After all, imposters duped LinkedIn. We alerted LinkedIn to the fraud. Simple solution, LinkedIn: remove the imposters, case closed.
Well, so much for that. One of the alleged infringers, the fake co-owner, responded with a counter-notice and LinkedIn stated that they would not remove the imposter from our page. At that point, the real owners of LGK discussed legal remedies, along with closing not only the company page but also personal pages. We decided to take one more stab at cracking this bureaucratic nightmare and provided LinkedIn with our corporate filing, which lists the names of the company owners. Days went by. After we requested a status update, LinkedIn responded that the network would remove the imposter content from our page due to “no action from their [imposter] part.”
As of this writing, LinkedIn closed the case, but we are not sure if we are out of the woods, yet. One thing we are sure of; however, is that if this can happen to us, it can happen to you. Be fiercely protective of your reputation. Do not allow any online platform or network to jeopardize your integrity or authenticity. It is a matter of trust, and we encourage you to evaluate how your small business uses social media.
Just this month, as we were nearing the end of the LinkedIn ordeal, Adweek published a story on LinkedIn’s fake accounts. It provides useful information, including advice from Paul Rockwell, LinkedIn’s Head of Trust and Safety. Here is an excerpt.
For members of the professional network, Rockwell [Paul Rockwell, LinkedIn Head of Trust and Safety] said the LinkedIn Help Center provides information on how to treat connection requests, and inappropriate behavior on the platform can be reported here, and he reminded users that they have the ability to remove connections.
Rockwell wrote, “We do not tolerate fake accounts, inappropriate activities or behavior such as spam, harassment or scams. We’re one of several teams that use a variety of tools to actively monitor our platform for bad activity … We take member reports very seriously, and take appropriate action on those that violate our terms of service or professional community policies. Our actions can range from the removal of content to a permanent restriction from LinkedIn.”
Check out: LinkedIn Recently Joined the Political Fake Accounts Block Party, Restricting Nearly 40, on Adweek, or Paul Rockwell’s LinkedIn post on the issue here.
Upon reading these articles, we subsequently reopened our LinkedIn case to request permanent removal of the Houston area fake co-owner and the Paris, France, fake “office manadger” [sic]. We will keep you posted upon receipt of LinkedIn’s response to our request.
LinkedIn is not the first and indeed will not be the last social network to expose real community members to security vulnerabilities. Moreover, fake profiles are not the only method hackers deploy to harm the integrity of a small business. Below you will find a few resources to protect your accounts and company’s good name on whatever social network or online platform you choose to use.
8 Social Media Security Tips to Mitigate Risks
With the amount of information stored and shared online, social media security is more important than ever. There’s no doubt social has made the world a more connected place. In most cases, that’s a good thing. But all those connections also create unprecedented access to people’s and business’ information.
How Is Google Protecting Small Businesses from Scams?
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) that depend on online engagement for their revenue and brand visibility try to keep Google happy. You can image how concerned business owners would be when receiving a notice or phone call supposedly from Google threatening to remove their listing.
5 Scams SMBs Should Look Out For
Don’t be fooled: Your small business is not beneath fraudsters’ notice. Look out for these five common traps. If you use a computer to run your business, you’re at risk of a cyberattack. Scammers and fraudsters can target any computer, accessing vital financial or business information for malicious ends.
Has a phishing scam hooked your company’s good name?
When internet fraudsters mimic a legitimate business to trick consumers into giving out their personal information, it’s called phishing. It’s not just a problem for consumers, but for the companies the scammers are impersonating too.
Have you experienced a LinkedIn security issue? What advice do you have for LGK and fellow small business owners? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.
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GB O’Brien
LGK Principal