I received a LinkedIn connection request recently. An attractive young lady called Nita who has a great educational background was “shocked” by my “excellence” (screenshot below). I obviously had underestimated myself all these years, ignoring my own “excellence” and its dramatic effect on others.
It did not stop there. Not long after Nita, my “excellence” shocked another attrative lady called Albertine (screenshot below). She even said “I should call you a senior, and a senior!” I don’t know what she exactly means, but it sounds pleasant.
Of couse, these are all fake LinkedIn accounts. I received ~30 such connection requests in the past month or two. In the beginning I was not sure if they are real or not. Their profiles do contain a lot of information including their educational backgrounds and working experiences. But when I received a request from a lady whose profile picture was identical to a previous request, it was obvious it’s all fake.
So what these scammers are trying to do? According an NPR article, after you accept the connection request, they will spend months chatting with you to cultivate the trust. Once you trust them, they will ask you to invest money on, e.g. crypto. Then you will find your money is gone.
There are two characteristics of these fake requests: (1) They are attractive young ladies (likely from Asia), and (2) their messages are vague. So next time when somebody tells you your “excellence” shocks her, just ignore her.