I’ve previously noted that one possible sign of a scammer is when they don’t initiate a LinkedIn connection to you, but instead want you to initiate a LinkedIn connection to them. When a scammer is scamming, they can’t blow through a few thousand connection requests every day, so it’s better if the victims initiate the connection request themselves.
I immediately thought of this when I received an email from a Gmail account to one of my odd accounts entitled “Thinking of connecting.”
Um…why not just do it?
Here’s the text with the scammer’s alleged name changed:
“I saw your profile on LinkedIn and wanted to say hello. I’m Melania.
“I’ve always been interested in learning about different professional paths. This is just a friendly intro for the start of the week—no expectations on my end.”
Obviously I didn’t respond. Because I have no idea who the Gmail account holder REALLY is.
A day later, I received a second message that included the following:
“Things are actually pretty smooth and manageable on my end as the Operations Manager at Estée Lauder, so I’ve had some extra time to catch up with my network. I’d love to hear how your side of the world is treating you whenever you have a moment.”
Again, I didn’t respond. I didn’t even ask for “Melania’s” Estee Lauder email address (again, the emails are from a Gmail account).
Then we got to day three. Remember how Melania said she had viewed my LinkedIn profile? This was the next question she asked:
“Is it snowing where you are?”
Obviously she hadn’t read anything, and I was getting bored, so I blocked her from all email addresses.
Bredemarket 