Recently, a Bengaluru-based woman shared a shocking experience where someone offered her money to rent her LinkedIn account. Her post went viral, making many people worried about online scams. Scammers are finding new ways to steal personal and financial information, and this is one of the latest tactics.

The unusual offer

The woman described the offer as “wild” and questioned whether renting out LinkedIn accounts had become a new trend. She wrote, “Most of you, all urban working corporate slaves like me, must be living in rented apartments. And some of you lucky ones with generational wealth are probably renting out your apartments. But have you ever heard of renting out your LinkedIn account?”

According to her, someone reached out and offered to “borrow” her LinkedIn profile for a certain amount of time in exchange for money. However, the exact reason for renting the account remained unclear. She even posted screenshots of the conversation with the scammer. When she asked what "renting" meant, the scammer explained that their friend's organisation needed LinkedIn profiles to “increase their market.” The scammer then asked if she was willing to rent out her account in return for $20 per week. They added, “If you are willing to do so, I will pay you $20 per week. However, during this period, you cannot change any security information or basic data.”

Concerns over security

The scammer also reassured her that her personal contacts would remain safe but insisted that her login credentials would be needed. They added, “You will only need to help lift the restriction if your LinkedIn account gets restricted; other than that, you don’t need to do anything."

The woman was unsure about the scammer's intentions and what they might do with the rented accounts. Many other users responded to her post, sharing their own experiences with LinkedIn scams. One user commented, “Wow! Scams are really prevalent these days on LinkedIn. Even I went through one—a fake job posting. The 'so-called HR/recruiter' contacted me on LinkedIn and WhatsApp and repeatedly asked to start work but wanted me to provide my bank details and join a 15-20 minute training. Really shady from the start. When I came back on LinkedIn, that account was restricted/removed. Thank God!"

This unusual scam has raised concerns about how scammers are trying to hack into LinkedIn accounts and misuse them for unknown purposes. It’s a reminder to be cautious when sharing information online.

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