When #OpenToWork is really #OpenToScam

LinkedIn has turned into a cesspool of scammers for job hunters

According to LinkedIn, if you’re looking for a job, you can let recruiters and your network know you’re open to new opportunities. If you specify the types of job opportunities you’re interested in and your preferred location, LinkedIn claims to help your profile show up in search results when recruiters look for suitable job candidates.

By changing your profile to #OpenToWork, you have control over who can see that you are ready to take on a new opportunity. Most people will want that to be to all LinkedIn members. This also includes recruiters and people at your current company. It also adds the #OpenToWork photo frame.

That sounds like a winning proposition. In reality, it’s the virtual equivalent of letting everyone know you are a scamming target.

My friend Pinny Gildin can attest to that. He’s a highly qualified IT professional looking for his next position. He changed his profile to #OpenToWork and came close to accepting a bogus job offer that could have scammed him out of money.

Two companies contacted him and made him job offers after a cursory interview based on his answers to an online set of questions. It sounded too good to be true, so he reached out as a…