LinkedIn Account Hacked

My LinkedIn account was hacked 2 days ago by someone in Vietnam.

I received an email in the evening asking me to enter a verification code into my LinkedIn account. I didn’t quite understand what it was about, so I ignored it. Not long after that, I received another email informing me that the email address associated with my LinkedIn account had been changed - to a Western-sounding name. Sensing something amiss, I immediately tried to log in, only to be told that the email and password I entered were invalid.

That was just the start of the nightmare. 

I created a dummy account to search for my profile and confirmed that it was still there. I quickly reported the issue to LinkedIn. After several rounds of back-and-forth emails, which included providing my identification, I was informed that my ID could not be accepted and that I had violated LinkedIn’s terms. I was then told that my account would be frozen and that I would no longer be able to access it. To make matters worse, the customer support representative ended the email curtly with, “This will be my last response to you on this matter.” As the victim, I was made to feel as though I was the problem.

To make things even more surreal, yesterday, I received a WhatsApp message from a local LinkedIn sales team member asking me to complete a form about hiring and talent products that I had supposedly requested. I ignored the message and deleted it. Early this morning, the same person called to follow up on that “request”. I told her I had never asked for any such services and that my account had been hacked. To her credit, she was kind enough to point me to a support link where I could seek help. So… I went through the same process again and wrote in once more. 

Let’s see where this leads.

Sighs...

PS: I asked myself if this is a good opportunity to let go of the account and just create a new one. Fresh start perhaps, but I feel tired just thinking of going through the whole hassle of recreating the account!

Afternote: LinkedIn has reinstated my account this evening using a different email. As a safeguard, I changed my password and activated F2A.