LinkedIn Users Beware: Phishing Attacks Skyrocket to Dramatically High Levels — How to Avoid

LinkedIn users are most likely targeted in phishing attacks as the social media platform is now the most abused brand for such a cyberattack, a recent research says.

LinkedIn Phishing Attacks

There was a time wherein retail and shipping firms were the main targets of phishing attacks, as per a news story by Dark Reading. But the trend these days has drastically shifted to tech giants, specifically social networking platforms.

In fact, LinkedIn sits on top of the brands that have been most targeted by phishing attacks in the first quarter of 2022.

Aside from that, a messaging app owned by the Facebook parent firm Meta, WhatsApp, also made it to the top 10 list.

It is worth noting that the tech giant Microsoft actually owns the employment-focused social media, LinkedIn.

Its users primarily use the social networking service to seek a new job, while others utilize it to look for talents to add to their team.

That said, LinkedIn is mainly used for professional stuff, unlike Instagram or Twitter, which are essentially more personal.

LinkedIn: Most Targeted in Phishing Attacks

Despite the seemingly harmless characteristics of LinkedIn, it became the top brand that threat actors are attempting to use in phishing attacks.

The latest Brand Phishing Report of the research firm, Check Point, disclosed that the phishing attacks targeting LinkedIn users reached dramatically high levels in the first quarter of the year.

To be more precise, cyberattacks luring victims while pretending to be LinkedIn are now the majority or about 52% of the phishing attacks globally for the first three months of 2022.

On top of that, the LinkedIn phishing attacks have also racked up roughly about 44 percent last Jan., Feb, and March, at least when compared to its figures in the same period in 2021.

It is interesting to point out that the phishing attacks targeting LinkedIn users way back in the first quarter of 2021 were only around 8 percent, Check Point reported.

All that data suggests that LinkedIn is "the most targeted brand by a considerable margin" in terms of phishing attacks, the recent research concluded.

The Check Point report also highlighted that the messaging p

latfo

rm, WhatsApp, maintained its position in the top 10 list of phishing targeted brands globally.

Meanwhile, the shipping firm, DHL, got second place, whereas Google sits 3rd. Another tech giant, Microsoft, is in the 4th spot, while Apple took the last place in the top 10 rankings.

LinkedIn Phishing Attacks: How to Avoid

According to a report by ZDNet, a LinkedIn spokesperson previously encouraged its users to turn on two-step verification to avoid falling for phishing campaigns.

Another way to avoid any phishing scheme is to scrutinize the link URL before proceeding with giving away important details like login credentials.