New 419 scam targets LinkedIn

LinkedIn, a social-networking tool largely utilised by professionals, is being targeted by scammers. Security researchers at Sophos have discovered that scammers are sending messages to LinkedIn members claiming to be from the daughter of a wealthy African merchant. In this variation of the Nigerian scam, also known as the 419 scam due to the article of Nigerian law it contravenes, the recipient is asked for their bank account details so the sum of $6.5m can be deposited. Of course, there is no fortune to be deposited and the scammers are simply attempting to steal your money. "419 scammers may be hoping that the typical professional on LinkedIn may have more disposal income than the archetypal MySpace or Facebook user, and is potentially a bigger catch," said Graham Cluley of Sophos. Cluley said that anyone who used LinkedIn should make sure they have their security settings correctly configured. "LinkedIn provides the ability to prevent people from sending you an invitation to connect unless they know your email address or appear in your 'other contacts' list," he said. www.sophos.com www.linkedin.com