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Is LinkedIn a Threat to your Safety?

Before anyone gets freaked out by the title of this article, let me assure you that People Search News has always been a fan of LinkedIn. Being a pioneer in business social networking, LinkedIn has helped thousands of professionals gain new clients, find employment and grow their businesses. In fact, a few of our staffers (Dubleche and Agony) were found using this social network. The bottom line is that if you want to make business contacts, you need to visit LinkedIn. However, as with any social network, there may be some risk in getting personally or financially involved with someone you meet on LinkedIn.

When a person signs up for LinkedIn, he or she is asked to provide basic personal information as well as information on his or her educational and professional background. Once this initial step is complete, the user is then allowed to post their profile on the network and begin making professional contacts. Basically, the time it takes to get registered and begin networking is less than ten minutes. This “jump right in” capability of the network is probably one of its biggest strengths as anyone can begin fully utilizing LinkedIn quickly. However, like the proverbial double edged sword, this ease of use also makes LinkedIn a potentially dangerous tool as members are never screened by the use of a background check.

As previously stated, it doesn’t take too long to create a LinkedIn profile. Once a profile has been created, a LinkedIn member can participate fully in all of the network’s functions, including advertising available positions and reaching out to other members. Most of the time, positions advertised on LinkedIn are great opportunities to advance one’s career or generate some extra cash. Every now and then however, accepting work from a member of LinkedIn can be a dangerous proposition. Let me explain…

Case in point #1: You accept an invite from a LinkedIn member to do some consulting work. Her LinkedIn profile says she works for a website that you have never heard of, but she seems very knowledgeable over email. Therefore, you agree to spend weeks developing a massive document which you send to this LinkedIn member and then wait eagerly to be paid. She changes her contact information. Payment never arrives and you have been scammed.

Case in point #2: You agree to meet with a potential employer to discuss a job opportunity. This self –employed individual says he has been in business for years and wants to come to your house to discuss the potential work. You agree and he stops by for dinner. Everything seems to be checking out with the employer and you hope that he will give you the job. Too bad you didn’t know he was fresh out of prison for embezzlement and you end up unemployed and broke after two months without pay. By the way, did we mention that he was a registered sex offender too?

The previous two cases illustrate the chief safety flaw of LinkedIn: the lack of background checks for its members. Through an action as simple as answering a job post, a stranger from LinkedIn can possibly harm you financially as well as physically. Therefore, we recommend anyone meeting a new contact from LinkedIn perform a background check first before going any further than a simple introduction.

For under $50, most people search sites can provide you with a comprehensive background check which can give you insight into an individual’s past behavior, including vital criminal and financial information. Though we can’t predict what a person will do in the future, it is often said that the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. Therefore, we once again urge you to enjoy the benefits of LinkedIn, but make sure that you are networking safely by using online background checks.

Nov 15, 2007

Christopher Kata replied on Nov 20, 2007

What a great topic. I use linkedIn quite a lot and never thought of these two things happening. Now, I am little cautious by nature so I don't think I'd ever invite anyone to my house that quickly. However, I may agree to offer some work without an up front fee.
With the cost of performing a people search as low as $50 it could very well be worth while doing in order to prevent something like this from happening!

James replied on Nov 20, 2007

I like it. Very good article.

Chris Ballas replied on Nov 20, 2007

Very Interesting and informative Thanks