Glut of Fake LinkedIn Profiles Pits HR Against the Bots

upstart writes:

Glut of Fake LinkedIn Profiles Pits HR Against the Bots:

A recent proliferation of phony executive profiles on LinkedIn is creating something of an identity crisis for the business networking site, and for companies that rely on it to hire and screen prospective employees. The fabricated LinkedIn identities - which pair AI-generated profile photos with text lifted from legitimate accounts - are creating major headaches for corporate HR departments and for those managing invite-only LinkedIn groups.

Last week, KrebsOnSecurity examined a flood of inauthentic LinkedIn profiles all claiming Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) roles at various Fortune 500 companies, including Biogen, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Hewlett Packard.

Since then, the response from LinkedIn users and readers has made clear that these phony profiles are showing up en masse for virtually all executive roles - but particularly for jobs and industries that are adjacent to recent global events and news trends.

[...] Lathrop said that about two months ago his employer noticed waves of new followers, and identified more than 3,000 followers that all shared various elements, such as profile photos or text descriptions.

"Then I noticed that they all claim to work for us at some random title within the organization," Lathrop said in an interview with KrebsOnSecurity. "When we complained to LinkedIn, they'd tell us these profiles didn't violate their community guidelines. But like heck they don't! These people don't exist, and they're claiming they work for us!"

Read more of this story at SoylentNews.