LinkedIn will roll out new verification capabilities in the coming months to combat bogus accounts.

The business-focused social site is an excellent location to network with other entrepreneurs and locate new employees, positions, and opportunities.

However, as a result of this popularity, we are seeing an increase in the number of fake profiles created by scammers for more sinister purposes.

Bot-like accounts have appeared all over the platform. They’ve been emailing people, tricking legitimate personas into downloading malware, and duping them into handing over personal information.

LinkedIn has a wealth of information on each of its members, including their career history, contact information, professional interests, and locations of employment – all vital information that a determined criminal may exploit.

These bogus accounts can be difficult to detect. They appear to be genuine persons (sometimes AI-generated deepfake photos), they appear to work for legitimate businesses, and the profiles have been meticulously maintained to appear authentic.

LinkedIn will make adjustments in the coming months to assist combat bogus accounts, including an upgraded account authentication procedure.

Microsoft, which owns LinkedIn, is collaborating with secure identification platform Clear to assist in account verification using work email addresses, government-issued ID, and a phone number.

It is currently being evaluated only in the United States, but if successful, we anticipate a wider rollout in the following months.

Accounts will acquire a verification mark, similar to the ones presented by Twitter, once the necessary information has been submitted. However, unlike Twitter, LinkedIn will provide verification for free.

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more, but in the meantime, if you need assistance keeping all of your accounts secure, please contact us.