Social media company LinkedIn has introduced a series of new features aimed at fighting fake profiles and malicious use of the platform.
The firm made the announcement in a blog post on Tuesday, where it unveiled three new security-focused capabilities.
The first one, called ‘About this profile,’ shows users when a profile was created and last updated. It also flags whether the member has verified a phone number and work email associated with their account.
The second feature uses an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered deep learning model made with AI-based synthetic image generation technology to better catch fake accounts with photos. The model reportedly increases the effectiveness of LinkedIn’s automated anti-abuse defenses to help detect and remove fake accounts before they have a chance to reach members.
Finally, the social media platform is adding a warning to some LinkedIn messages that include high-risk content potentially impacting security. These include messages asking users to take the conversation to another platform. Users will be able to flag these messages to LinkedIn without the sender knowing.
“Today, criminals will regularly use social media platforms to con people out of money, so any move to protect users is a positive step,” Rachel Jones, CEO of SnapDragon Monitoring, told Infosecurity in an email statement.
“LinkedIn is one of the most widely used platforms in the world, and while it primarily attracts legitimate users, it also offers criminals an avenue to commit fraud.”
According to Jones, social media-focused scams range from criminals setting up fake profiles and advertising the sales of fake counterfeit goods to monetary scams. In the latter, fraudsters set up spoofs of legitimate websites, promote them on social media and then con people into visiting them and handing over their financial information.
“Furthermore, criminals also use social media to lure people into romance scams or even to set up fake profiles pretending to be recruiters for legitimate organizations,” Jones added.
“These scams cause irreparable emotional and financial damage, and more needs to be done by businesses and online platforms to protect users. If a business sees its site is being duplicated by criminals, they must ensure it is taken offline with speed and efficiency before it causes harm.”
The new LinkedIn features come days after the social media company was knocked off the top spot by DHL as the number one brand being imitated in phishing attempts between July and September.