In a surprising revelation, Nikhita Anil, a Senior Brand Marketing Manager based in Bengaluru, has claimed that she was approached with an unusual offer to rent out her LinkedIn account for monetary compensation. Her LinkedIn post detailing this bizarre encounter has since gone viral, sparking widespread discussion on social media.
In her post, Nikhita described the experience as "wild" and questioned whether the practice of renting LinkedIn accounts has become a common trend. She humorously compared the situation to the urban lifestyle of renting apartments, stating, "Most of you, all urban working corporate slaves like me must be living in rented apartments. And some of you lucky ones with generational wealth are probably renting out your apartments. But, have you ever heard of renting out your LinkedIn account?"
According to Nikhita, an individual reached out with a proposal to "borrow" LinkedIn profiles for a specified period, promising payment in return. However, the intended use of these accounts remains unclear.
"Apparently, certain individuals are reaching out to people, offering to rent their LinkedIn accounts for a stipulated time in exchange for monetary gains," she explained. "What do they actually do with your account? That’s something you’ll either find out later or maybe never."
Nikhita further questioned the legitimacy of this practice, likening it to emerging scams in the digital space. "So, is LinkedIn renting a common practice now, like those digital arrest scams I’ve just started hearing about? Or is this the next wave of scams in the professional world?" she pondered.
Screenshots shared in her post revealed the mechanics of the scheme. When she inquired about the meaning of "renting," the sender stated, "My friend's company needs some LinkedIn accounts to expand their market. Would you be willing to rent yours in exchange for some compensation?" The sender offered $20 per week, but imposed restrictions, stating that Nikhita could not change any security information or basic data during the rental period.
The sender assured her that her personal contacts would remain undisturbed but requested her login credentials. "You need to provide the account and password, and we will log into your account. We will pay a $10 deposit for goodwill that same night," the message read.
The post has ignited a flurry of reactions on social media, with users sharing their thoughts and experiences related to the unusual proposal.
In response to such scams, LinkedIn in an exclusive comment to Business Today said, "Right across the internet, scams and fraud are becoming increasingly sophisticated. As the world’s largest professional networking platform, we use technology and teams of experts to find and remove them with 99.7% stopped proactively before a member reports. We encourage members to report any inappropriate comments or messages on LinkedIn, so our team can help protect them. Read more about how we’re working every day to keep our community trusted and professional here.”
In light of Safer Internet Day observed earlier this week, here are some LinkedIn tools we all can use to improve safety: