LinkedIn scam a.k.a. Revenge of the self-employed research associate

In late 2015 I received a lot of spam LinkedIn invitations, many from people who listed their positions as “Research Associate at Self-Employed.” It’s a weird title for a self-employed person.  As I wrote at the time (How many self-employed research associates does it take to change a light bulb?) I think it was some kind of phishing attempt. In particular, the aim seemed to be to build an impressive network and gain access to contact info and credentials. Maybe it was related to the 2016 election. The profiles were pretty bare and obviously not of real people, if you bothered to look. But I noticed that quite a few of my contacts were connected with these accounts. I haven’t heard from any self-employed research associates in a while, but I got a message recently that reminded me of those days. This one was a little more clever. It said, “We have done some truly path-breaking work in Healthcare using AI and Machine Learning which has resulted in significant savings and benefits for Healthcare Institutions. Would love to share more with you. Please let me know when we can talk.” The invitation came from Sonu Gandhi, listed as a “Manager” in Albany, NY. Screenshot 2019 04 18 07.31.07 This message is similar to legit ones I received, usually pitching story ideas for my blog. But something seemed a bit off. LinkedIn gives two options in the email: View profile or Accept. I clicked “view profile” and saw that this is a ...
Source: Health Business Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Amusements LinkedIn scam Source Type: blogs