Have you ever received a LinkedIn invitation from someone you don’t actually know, but accepted it anyway because the profile photo looked ‘interesting’ or ‘attractive’? It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book used to connect with you and your contacts… would you be upset if I told you that it’s just a social engineering trick?
There are all sorts of people out there who try and connect via LinkedIn using a few different techniques to convince you to connect. Once you are a connection, they can use the information you share for a variety of purposes, both good and bad.
When you receive an invite, stop and think before accepting. Do a google search on the person, and work out if they are real. Look them up on Instagram or Facebook, and see what content you can find. Do a reverse image search, and see if the image is just a stock photo.
Chances are they aren’t real, and it’s a sales technique or malicious person trying to connect.
Mike Winnet explains this technique really well in one of his vlog videos, so you might enjoy watching below: