Apparently I fake information on LinkedIn



  • This morning I got a bizarre call from a recruiter who informed me that my current position on LinkedIn is obviously fake and I've been reported. He told me I don't appear on the list of phone extensions. I asked the technician who works at my current place and I am informed there is no publicly available list of phone extensions.

    I could not find any evidence that I've been flagged through my account or email.

    I've been brought to conclude that one of the following is true, in order of probability, with probable outcomes:

    • The recruiter made a mistake in his investigation. If he gets back to me at all he will apologise and we will continue as normal.
    • I've been flagged as fake and LinkedIn has informed him but not me, in which case other recruiters will trickle through more of the story before such that it's worth me talking to LinkedIn.
    • The recruiter is up to something, but I don't know what. If he gets back to me without an apology, it's a scam.

    Assuming I'm correct, my next move is reactive. I'm not worried yet because there are many recruiters and this is the first issue I've heard. If he's going to fuck up as badly as I reckon he has, I don't want to work with him, so I'm ok with this.

    I was wondering what you guys thought. Any other possibilities I haven't thought of? Anything I should be concerned about? Should I be proactive?

    In trivia, I've been constructing interesting little narratives/conspiracy theories in my head. Perhaps he has a source within the company who worked out I'm looking for work (it's unlikely to be the technician). Maybe there's an old extension list publicised somewhere.


  • FoxDev

    Unless LinkedIn contact you about it, ignore it ;)


  • I survived the hour long Uno hand

    @Shoreline said:

    The recruiter is up to something, but I don't know what.

    He probably sells a "fix up my LinkedIn status" service. Ignore.


  • Notification Spam Recipient

    I would go with scam too. Don't response to him with any kind of details except with what's on your page and now may be a good time to look through your page for personal information that doesn't need to be there. I don't think anyone needs to know about your canoe fixation.



  • Why do you even care about LinkedIn? Are they still relevant for anything?


  • FoxDev

    @wft said:

    Are they still relevant for anything?

    it's handy for "oh, i got an interesting job opportunity land on my desk. better fire up linked in and click "generate resume"

    beyond that? /shrug/



  • @RaceProUK said:

    ignore

    @Yamikuronue said:

    Ignore

    @DogsB said:

    scam

    Thanks. :)

    @DogsB said:

    canoe fixation

    They always want to know my hobbies...

    @accalia said:

    generate resume

    I was unaware of this feature...

    Being a frontend engineer it was quite easy for me to put a simple SPA on gdrive. Now I'm thinking I could investigate the use of the LinkedIn API for the purposes of generating my CV content.

    Many constructive things have already emerged from this discussion. :)


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @Shoreline said:

    The recruiter is up to something, but I don't know what. If he gets back to me without an apology, it's a scam.

    I'd go direct with this and report him as a scammer.



  • Scamity scam scam scammy scam scam.



  • ...now I wonder what people would say if I were to message them and say "there's nothing wrong with your LinkedIn account."



  • @DogsB said:

    scam

    @PJH said:

    scammer

    @blakeyrat said:

    scam

    My only problem with this idea is that I still can't discern what the guy wants.

    @Yamikuronue said:

    He probably sells a "fix up my LinkedIn status" service.

    Could be, but he hasn't offered it yet. It seems like a really shit scam.

    If he calls me back for any reason I'll pretend I've forgotten who he is (which is deliciously ironic) and it didn't matter if he'd gotten back to me or not due to the avalanche of recruitment calls (which is substantially less ironic).

    It's worth mentioning I've had conversations with the same guy in the last couple of days before this. I guess he could be a fake recruiter, but I can't discern the difference between a fake recruiter and a shit one. I guess he could tell my company I'm looking for work elsewhere if he was feeling malicious. If so, my company should be shitting themselves by now, but whatever.

    I reckon he must be incompetent (one way or another), but it's still fascinating. :)

    Trivia: He told me I was "in a lot of trouble". I remember snippets of the phone call.

    @wft said:

    Why do you even care about LinkedIn?

    I don't keep it updated properly. I only care because he mentioned it. I might have linked to it from my CV but I haven't checked.



  • @Shoreline said:

    My only problem with this idea is that I still can't discern what the guy wants.

    Who gives a shit what he wants?



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Who gives a shit what he wants?

    My curiosity extends this far, apparently. I know he has to want something if he's a scammer, and by now I would imagine it would be something he'd asked for/suggested/etc.

    Maybe this is what he wants. For me to write a post on an IT-related forum. Maybe he's deus ex machina in his own life story and I'm somehow the arch-nemesis.

    I've never been an arch-nemesis before.



  • "Have you got anything without scam?"

    "Well, there's scam, Linkedin and scam, that's not got much scam in it."

    "I don't want ANY scam!"

    "Why can't she just have Linkedin and scam?"

    "THAT'S got scam in it!"

    "Hasn't got as much scam in it as scam egg sausage and scam, has it?"



  • @Shoreline said:

    I've been flagged as fake and LinkedIn has informed him but not me

    If you get an email from LinkenIn.gy asking for password to unlock your profile, definitely answer it.


  • I survived the hour long Uno hand

    LinkedIn reps all still use hotmail addresses, right?


  • Fake News

    @DCRoss said:

    "Hasn't got as much spam in it as scam egg sausage and scam, has it?"

    You forgot one.

    Also not enough SCAMIIITYY-SCAAAAM!!! chants.


  • Winner of the 2016 Presidential Election Banned

    @Shoreline said:

    The recruiter is up to something, but I don't know what. If he gets back to me without an apology, it's a scam.

    Preeeetty sure there's some sort of social engineering going on here. Don't tell him squat.



  • Why would a recruiter waste his time doing this? Maybe reporting you, but to bother and send you an email? Sound like scam.



  • @JBert said:

    @DCRoss said:
    "Hasn't got as much spam in it as scam egg sausage and scam, has it?"

    You forgot one.

    Also not enough SCAMIIITYY-SCAAAAM!!! chants.

    You caught me. I considered going as far as "What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like scam!", but thought that the chanting vikings might spoil the atmosphere of propriety and decorum which this forum usually enjoys.



  • @Shoreline said:

    bizarre call from a recruiter who informed me that my current position on LinkedIn is obviously fake and I've been reported. He told me I don't appear on the list of phone extensions. I asked the technician who works at my current place and I am informed there is no publicly available list of phone extensions.

    Spearphishing attempt would be my first instinct.



  • @Shoreline said:

    I can't discern the difference between a fake recruiter and a shit one.

    If this scammer was any good, you wouldn't be able to discern the difference between a fake recruiter and a good one.



  • @Shoreline said:

    He told me I was "in a lot of trouble".

    Get you on the back foot. Engage the amygdala. Disengage the prefrontal cortex.

    Spearphisher.


  • Grade A Premium Asshole

    @wft said:

    Why do you even care about LinkedIn? Are they still relevant for anything?

    They are still relevant for spamming people. Fuck LinkedIn.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @Shoreline said:

    My only problem with this idea is that I still can't discern what the guy wants.

    No - your problem is you're curious. Solve that with regard to this and you won't have a 'problem.'

    @Shoreline said:

    but I can't discern the difference between a fake recruiter and a shit one.

    Given the response to either is likely to be ignore/drop them, does it matter? I generally accept invites from recruiters, and promptly drop them if they start showing signs of idiocy (like not reading my profile, spamming irrelevant jobs etc.)

    @Shoreline said:

    I guess he could tell my company I'm looking for work elsewhere if he was feeling malicious.

    Only if that could be discerned from what's on your LinkedIn profile. Otherwise plead ignorance if it ever came to that and it actually matters.



  • @Polygeekery said:

    @wft said:
    Why do you even care about LinkedIn? Are they still relevant for anything?

    They are still relevant for spamming people. Fuck LinkedIn.

    Really? When I was laid off, the outplacement firm my company brought it said LinkedIn was one of the two online resources that were an absolute must in searching for a new job. (The spamming bit is certainly true, though.)



  • @Shoreline said:

    I was wondering what you guys thought. Any other possibilities I haven't thought of? Anything I should be concerned about? Should I be proactive?

    In trivia, I've been constructing interesting little narratives/conspiracy theories in my head. Perhaps he has a source within the company who worked out I'm looking for work (it's unlikely to be the technician). Maybe there's an old extension list publicised somewhere.

    Um ... what? o_O

    Every recruiter and technical talent company I have worked with, has ALWAYS had the same method of operation: find good people (or good enough people), match them to positions they are trying to fill, PROFIT!

    Hell, they are often so in need of people with specific skillsets, that MANY of them are TOTALLY willing to LIE on your behalf (with or without your knowledge) to place you in a position. When they do that, they are hoping you can just "fake it until you make it" or learn really fast on the job, or that the job reqs were exaggerated, and whatever skill(s) you are missing, won't be that big of a deal. Most of them couldn't care LESS what your ACTUAL employment history and/or skillset is. That slows them down, which costs them money.

    Recruiters have zero (repeat, ZERO) incentive to be trying to police the unwashed masses on linkedin, especially by spending their time on investigating people's claims on their accounts. Hell, their time is so limited as it is, they pressured linkedin to create better/faster search tools for them, so they could quickly find large groups of people who kinda/sorta match the job requirements they are trying to fill, so they can spam all of them at once with the same job details, rinse and repeat.

    It is also well known that recruiters and most hiring managers spend about less than 30 seconds (a minute if you are lucky) looking at your resume. The reason they don't spend longer? They are short on time!

    So, I call bullshit on this. I SERIOUSLY doubt the person who contacted you is an actual recruiter. Most likely they are a scammer/criminal who will offer to "fix" (for a small fee, of course) the problem they think they have created in your mind, by trying to scare you.

    If you are actually worried, contact linkedin directly, forward them the communication the "recruiter" sent you, and ask them what's up. Also add (if you want), that you would be happy to send them verification of your employment history, if that is (for whatever reason) a problem. I would be willing to bet they: A.) don't have a recruiter reporting system at all, and B.) have received no reports from that person in the absence of such a system.

    There, end of issue.

    Oh, and if you already haven't, I would ban that "recruiter" HARD from contacting you again. You don't need any of that made-up drama ;)



  • @flabdablet said:

    If this scammer was any good, you wouldn't be able to discern the difference between a fake recruiter and a good one.

    There's anything to distinguish the two.

    Most of my experiences with recruiter has been resume trolls.


  • Fake News

    @DCRoss said:

    @JBert said:
    Also not enough SCAMIIITYY-SCAAAAM!!! chants.

    I considered going as far as "What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like scam!", but thought that the chanting vikings might spoil the atmosphere of propriety and decorum which this forum usually enjoys.

    Vikings? Where the hell are we supposed to get bloody vikings in this economy, especially after most of the lot went under in the 2008 Icelandic banking crisis?

    No, I would have it chanted by that profession that likes a good scam more than anybody: [spoiler]lawyers[/spoiler].



  • @PJH said:

    I generally accept invites from recruiters, and promptly drop them if they start showing signs of idiocy (like not reading my profile, spamming irrelevant jobs etc.)

    Given the initial contact always seems to show idiocy, I ignore all those requests. (Oh, you have a great opportunity for a javascript wizard? Where in the fuck did that word even appear in my profile?)

    My co-worker and I appear to be on the exact same spam list (probably all people who work at Belgium). We get the same contact email within minutes of each other.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @DCRoss said:

    thought that the chanting vikings@blakeyrat might rant about Monty Python jokes

    FTFY



  • Bigger question, why do you care that some recruiter thinks your profile is fake? As someone who has never had a positive interaction with a recruiter I can say, with confidence, that those jackasses have no idea what they're talking about. Ever. About anything. He probably meant to say you have a nice profile picture and offer you an Ada job, but it came out "YER PROFILE IZ FAKE" because he's a complete waste of oxygen.



  • There's increasing (and annoying) number of job agents who will:

    1. Look at the company name in your profile
    2. Do web search on your company to find the phone number
    3. Dial it, and ask whoever picked up the call to transfer to the name appear on profile
    4. If can transfer, or get reply that the staff does not hold a number on internal phone list, the profile is real. Declare the profile is fake otherwise.

    Now if your company name is wrong, or there exist another company that has company name close to yours so the agent dials to a wrong company, your profile could look fake to them.

    :wtf: do they have in mind? Don't they understand about half of the tech companies have phone recording? Are they nuts? 💢💢💢


  • Trolleybus Mechanic

    Next time he calls, fart into the phone. If he's still there, it's true love.


  • BINNED

    @Shoreline said:

    I was wondering what you guys thought. Any other possibilities I haven't thought of?

    Your current position on LinkedIn is fake and you are delusional, or you are unknowingly your own evil twin from another universe.


  • BINNED

    That explains why our secretary asked me if I know a company called ConSol. I did not of course, then she just connect the call to my phone while I ignored it!
    I later called back, and the job happened to be no longer valid for weeks! complete waste of time. Never go through recruiters, they are idiots. Applying through them decreases the chance of getting any good job because they charge about 1 year of your salary (interesting huh)



  • On the topic of "being on a phone list", that's just not a valid method of verifying that someone works at a company.
    I happen to work at our head office building and we don't have a common phone system across all locations, which means it is impossible for the receptionist to transfer an incoming call to ~75% of the workforce.
    I also know for a fact that there is no such thing as a phone list in the company - she/we have two ways to find a colleague; look them up on the phone system (which will on get you the ~80 people in this building, in the same way that the Munich phone system only shows the 15 people in that building) or via email, which invariably doesn't have mobile/cell numbers.

    So I call bullshit on any recruiter using that as a measurement of whether you work for a given company.



  • Emmm... I keep getting jobs that are HKD5000+ from my current job, however since I'm content with my current job and don't want to risk jumping into shitty jobs, I keep declining the offers.



  • Well, if they can confirm your existence by talking with receptionist, then it works.


  • Trolleybus Mechanic

    @dse said:

    Never go through recruiters, they are idiots.

    Or worse.

    During my last job hunt, I had my profile set to "searchable" on a few job sites. (Sidenote: waste of time. No employer ever contacted me, just recruiters). Anyways, one day on of my coworkers comes over to my desk.

    👱 Hey 👦 there's a call for you from Recruiter Inc (it was a very recruiter-sounding company), should I transfer it?

    👦 {what the fuck?} Okaaaay.... :phone: Hello?

    👻 Hi Lorne glad to reach you. I'm Dumbfuck from Recruiter, Inc., and I wanted to talk to you about a position.

    👦 Where did you get this phone number from?

    👻 Oh I looked at your resume, saw where you were working now, and called the main line.

    👦 {thankful that this was early in the morning and only me and 👱 were in the office} And you didn't think about calling the cell number I have on top of the resume? And worst, did you ever think that it's a stupid, stupid idea to call someone at their current place of employment, and talk to their COWORKERS? Did you ever think maybe I don't want my current employer to know I'm looking for another job? What if my boss had picked up instead of my coworker?

    👻 Oh I never thought of that. So about this position...

    👦 No. I have no interest in working with you. Never contact me again. :phone:

    Yeah-- even if you don't seek them out, recruiters can be actively harmful to you. Dumb fucks.



  • @Lorne_Kates said:

    did you ever think that it's a stupid, stupid idea to call someone at their current place of employment

    I've only occasionally had recruiters call me at work. AFAICR, these happened either at times I had been looking recently,

    👱 No, I'm not looking for a change any more. I just accepted this position; try again in a few years.

    or my current employer knew I was looking because they had told me I was going to be laid off.

    Most of my job changes have been due to acquisitions (one day working for $purchased_company, the next working for $purchasing_company) or layoffs. Only three times in my career have I ever changed jobs while currently employed; none of those involved recruiters. One of those was, "Hi, ex-manager. I'm finishing up a project at $current_employer. I really liked working for you when you were here at $current_employer, and the project you're working on at $future_employer sounds really interesting. Do you have any openings?" The other two were long enough ago that newspaper help wanted ads were still relevant, and online job search sites hadn't yet been invented.



  • Nearly everybody: "it's a scam"

    @Shoreline said:

    I still can't discern what the guy wants.

    @Shoreline said:

    phone extensions

    Ok... I might have answered one of my questions. If so, TIL that people pretend to be recruiters and attempt to phish for phone extensions.

    Does that make any sense? Or was it obvious to the rest of you from the start?

    Now I want to play a practical joke. "I have a screenshot of our extensions" followed by a picture of my hand extending my middle finger, captioned as such. Not much of a practical joke.

    @Vaire said:

    If you are actually worried

    Nope lol.

    @Vaire said:

    You don't need any of that made-up drama

    Where will I get material for my sit-com?

    BTW in trivia, his website looks like this: http://masoncole.co.uk/ I like the simplicity of it.

    Can I post his email address here or will I get banned?


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