\n<\/p>\n
Cryptocurrency investment scammers on LinkedIn are a \u201csignificant threat\u201d to user safety, FBI special agent Sean Ragan said Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n In an <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> with CNBC<\/i>, Ragan said he believes LinkedIn has a problem when it comes to investment scams.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis type of fraudulent activity is significant,\u201d Ragan said. \u201cThere are many potential victims, and there are many past and current victims.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Microsoft-owned social network claims to have 830 million members in more than 200 countries.<\/span><\/p>\n These scammers aren\u2019t lazy either, so they might seem very convincing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey are always thinking about different ways to victimize people, victimize companies,\u201d Ragan told the network. \u201cAnd they spend their time doing their homework, defining their goals and their strategies, and their tools and tactics that they use.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The FBI has seen an uptick in investment-related fraud, according to Regan. The <\/span>Federal Trade Commission<\/span><\/a> reported that U.S. cryptocurrency traders lost $575 million due to investment fraud from January 2021 until March 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n LinkedIn emphasizes business news and relationships, which may create a false sense of security against the backdrop of common romance and online scams. The CNBC<\/i> report notes that fake profiles often claim to be associated with legitimate and successful companies, or to represent people with \u201centrepreneurial spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n LinkedIn\u2019s director of trust, privacy, and equity Oscar Rodriguez acknowledged the number of scammers increasing on its platform.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOver the last few months, we\u2019ve seen a rise in fraudulent activity happening across the Internet, including here on LinkedIn,\u201d Rodriguez wrote in a <\/span>blog post<\/span><\/a> Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n The company said it has a track record of proactively removing suspicious content and accounts it suspects may lead to fraud. In 2021, LinkedIn removed over 136 million instances of spam and scam content on its platform, according to a recent <\/span>company transparency report<\/span><\/a>. It also removed over 31.6 million fake accounts last year.<\/span><\/p>\n Rodriguez told <\/span>CNBC <\/span><\/i>that more \u201c<\/span>proactive education<\/span><\/a>\u201d on the risks of using LinkedIn is something he\u2019d like to see going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n LinkedIn does not currently offer profile verification for notable users, unlike Twitter and Instagram. But not even verification is foolproof: Twitter has also seen verified accounts abused by crypto and <\/span>NFT scammers<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\nWant to be a crypto expert? Get the best of Decrypt straight to your inbox.<\/h3>\n
\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.decrypt.co\/resize\/1536\/wp-content\/themes\/decrypt-media\/assets\/images\/newsletter-adunit-vector.png\")
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n