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LinkedIn is a cesspool of scammers and identity theft

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: LinkedIn is a cesspool of scammers and identity theft

#21

Post by technion »

pugio wrote: post #7

LinkedIn is one of the most annoying sites on the internet. Every time I mistakenly click a link, it automatically grabs my Google account and creates a new account and profile for me, which I then have to go in and delete. Yes, I finally figured out which arcane preferences settings across both LinkedIn and Google I had to tweak to stop this from happening, but I think it was only after ChatGPT was around to help me…

This isn't LinkedIn specific - the easily misclickable "one click to logon with Google" button showing up in browsers was a huge mistake and should never have existed. Reddit has started prompting too if you're not currently logged in, to just suddenly be logged in with Google.

Re: LinkedIn is a cesspool of scammers and identity theft

#22

Post by sixtyj »

LinkedIn was really good idea at the beginnings but as always what is for free you are a product.

After reading few LI posts full of “I am grateful” and “I am honored” or “Thank to my excellent team…” bla bla - you have to think that people in your circle became LI-infected as that jargon is not normal.

Nevertheless. There is an opportunity to start over with a new global professional network. LI concept still makes sense.

Re: LinkedIn is a cesspool of scammers and identity theft

#23

Post by ozim »

spenvo wrote: post #10
mgartin wrote: post #8

I recently started to receive emails with: "New skill available: Puzzle solving" Begging me to compete with colleagues. Oh, what they have become... I have unsubscribed from their emails now.

Good luck actually unsubscribing from LinkedIn emails. The dark pattern they employ (or at least used to employ, for many many years) is to just periodically add new "categories" of email to send you, that you haven't yet unsubscribed from. Back in ~2015, out of frustration I changed my LinkedIn email to a throwaway

Nothing that inbox rules can’t fix. I just pass all LinkedIn mails to dev/null on arrival.

Re: LinkedIn is a cesspool of scammers and identity theft

#24

Post by xhevahir »

sixtyj wrote: post #22

LinkedIn was really good idea at the beginnings but as always what is for free you are a product. After reading few LI posts full of “I am grateful” and “I am honored” or “Thank to my excellent team…” bla bla - you have to think that people in your circle became LI-infected as that jargon is not normal. Nevertheless. There is an opportunity to start over with a new global professional network. LI concept still makes…

That doesn't sound to me like a consequence of their free-as-in-beer business model. It sounds like an accurate reflection of business culture and the way people talk in that sort of milieu.

Re: LinkedIn is a cesspool of scammers and identity theft

#25

Post by onion2k »

mgartin wrote: post #8

I recently started to receive emails with: "New skill available: Puzzle solving" Begging me to compete with colleagues. Oh, what they have become... I have unsubscribed from their emails now.

I'm willing to bet that "Daily Active Users" is one of LinkedIn's H1 OKRs. Putting a daily game on the site earned an SVP a fat bonus.

Re: LinkedIn is a cesspool of scammers and identity theft

#27

Post by psalaun »

karmakurtisaani wrote: post #20
mgartin wrote: post #8

I recently started to receive emails with: "New skill available: Puzzle solving" Begging me to compete with colleagues. Oh, what they have become... I have unsubscribed from their emails now.

"A [recruiter you connected with 3 years ago in hopes of getting job opportunities, but never heard from ever again] reacted to a post by [a person you've never heard of before]: What taking a long shit while my wife was screaming at my kids taught me about b2b sales. Click here to read more"

Switching the feed setting from the default algorithmic curated one to chronological improves a lot. And unsubscribe people liking the kind of post you're mocking, too.

Re: LinkedIn is a cesspool of scammers and identity theft

#29

Post by zeafoamrun »

mgartin wrote: post #8

I recently started to receive emails with: "New skill available: Puzzle solving" Begging me to compete with colleagues. Oh, what they have become... I have unsubscribed from their emails now.

When I see connections are wasting time playing LinkedIn puzzles I'm just embarrassed for them. Although I half expect it's just made up for engagement like fake profiles on dating sites.
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