Hacked on LinkedIn

Your LinkedIn was taken. Here's the next hour.

A hijacked LinkedIn is a weapon aimed at your colleagues, clients and board.

Does this look familiar

  • Posts or messages sent in your name, often crypto or "investment opportunities"
  • Connection requests you didn't send
  • Profile photo, headline or email changed
  • Login alerts from unfamiliar locations
  • Colleagues reporting odd DMs from you

Do these, in order

  1. Email and carrier first

    Before touching LinkedIn: from a clean device, change your email password, enable app-based two-factor, sign out of all sessions, and check recovery options. Call your carrier for an account PIN and port-freeze. Full first hour.

  2. Reset the password via email. If the email was changed, use the compromised-account form; LinkedIn may ask for government ID to verify you, which is legitimate inside that flow.

  3. Settings → Sign in and security: review "Where you're signed in" and end all other sessions. Turn on two-step verification with an authenticator app.

  4. Settings → Email addresses and Phone numbers: remove additions. Then Data privacy → Permitted services and Other applications: revoke unused apps.

  5. Delete the posts and messages the attacker sent, then post a brief, calm note that your account was compromised and nothing sent in the last X hours was you.

  6. Tell your company's security team. Executive impersonation on LinkedIn is usually step one of a wire-fraud attempt on your staff.

Avoid

  • Replying to "LinkedIn Security" messages inside LinkedIn. Support uses help.linkedin.com, not DMs.
  • Leaving the sent messages up while you "deal with it later." Every hour costs someone a click.
  • Assuming it's only your problem. Warn your assistant and finance team the same day.

After you're back in

Make sure it can't happen the same way twice.

  • Figure out how they got in. The fix depends on the door they used, and there's usually more than one.
  • Close that door specifically, then the ones next to it.
  • Assume the same people will try again. They usually do.
  • Check your passwords and email against known breaches with a free account, and run the exposure scorecard. Or let us do the whole thing.