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LinkedIn “Unread Inquiries”; Phishing Scam Email

Outline:
Email purporting  to be from business social network LinkedIn claims that you can click a link to read five unread inquiries.

Brief Analysis:
The email is not from LinkedIn. It is a phishing scam designed to steal your LinkedIn login credentials and your email account password.




Example:
Linkedin Phishing Scam Email




Detailed Analysis:
According to this email, which claims to be  from business focused social network LinkedIn, you have five unread inquiries waiting on the network. It invites you to click a link  to read your unread messages.  The email includes a photograph depicting a LinkedIn office building.

However, the email is not from LinkedIn.

Instead, it is a rather crude phishing scam designed to steal your account information.

If you click the link in the email, you will be taken to a fraudulent website that  has  been designed to emulate a genuine LinkedIn login page. A form  on the page asks you to enter your LinkedIn email address and password. After you submit your login details, a second form will ask for your email address, email password, and phone number. When you click the “submit” button on the second form, a popup message will inform you that your unread messages will be emailed to you.

Meanwhile, the criminals responsible for this phishing attack can use the stolen information to hijack both your LinkedIn account and your email account. Once they have  gained access, the criminals can then use your accounts to perpetrate further scam and scam campaigns.

If you receive one of these emails, do not click any links or open any attachments that it contains. It is always safest to login to all of your online accounts by entering the  address into your browser’s address bar or via a trusted app.

The LinkedIn website includes  information about such phishing scams and how to submit any scam messages that you  have received.







Last updated: August 29, 2016
First published: August 29, 2016
By Brett M. Christensen
About Hoax-Slayer

References
Phishing Scams – Anti-Phishing Information
LinkedIn – Phishing Emails

 



Original Source : https://www.hoax-slayer.net/linkedin-unread-inquiries-phishing-scam-email/