Is LinkedIn a Threat to Your Safety?

Before anyone gets freaked out by the title of this article, let me assure you that People Search News has always been a fan of LinkedIn. Being a pioneer in business social networking, LinkedIn has helped thousands of professionals gain new clients, find employment and grow their businesses. In fact, a few of our staffers (Dubleche and Agony) were found using this social network. The bottom line is that if you want to make business contacts, you need to visit LinkedIn. However, as with any social network, there may be some risk in getting personally or financially involved with someone you meet on LinkedIn.

When a person signs up for LinkedIn, he or she is asked to provide basic personal information as well as information on his or her educational and professional background. Once this initial step is complete, the user is then allowed to post their profile on the network and begin making professional contacts. Basically, the time it takes to get registered and begin networking is less than ten minutes. This "jump right in" capability of the network is probably one of its biggest strengths as anyone can begin fully utilizing LinkedIn quickly. However, like the proverbial double edged sword, this ease of use also makes LinkedIn a potentially dangerous tool as members are never screened by the use of a background check.

As previously stated, it doesn't take too long to create a LinkedIn profile. Once a profile has been created, a LinkedIn member can participate fully in all of the network's functions, including advertising available positions and reaching out to other members. Most of the time, positions advertised on LinkedIn are great opportunities to advance one's career or generate some extra cash. Every now and then however, accepting work from a member of LinkedIn can be a dangerous proposition. Let me explain...