Cryptocurrency scammers are increasingly targeting LinkedIn users

Scammers using the Microsoft-owned social network LinkedIn are increasingly targeting job-seeking applicants. Cryptocurrency scammers on LinkedIn, according to an FBI agent, pose a “serious threat” to user safety.

Sean Ragan, an FBI agent, told CNBC that LinkedIn has a problem with investment frauds and that crypto scammers are recruiting people under the guise of an investment plan. “This type of fraudulent activity is significant. There are many potential victims, and there are many past and current victims,” Ragan told. 

LinkedIn claims to have 830 million users from over 200 countries. “They are always thinking about different ways to victimize people, victimize companies. And they spend their time doing their homework, defining their goals and their strategies, and the tools and tactics that they use,” he added.

This comes just weeks after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a study claiming that over 46,000 consumers had lost over $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams since the beginning of 2021. According to the FTC, over half of those who reported losing digital currency in a scam claimed it began with an ad, post, or message on a social media network.

In a blog post, Oscar Rodriguez, LinkedIn’s director of the trust, privacy, and equity, stated that the number of fraudsters using the network is on the rise. “Over the last few months, we’ve seen a rise in fraudulent activity happening across the Internet, including here on LinkedIn,” he wrote in a blog post.