Is Your Photo Being Used On Fake LinkedIn Profiles?

Spammers may be using your photo for the fake profiles they set up on LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, and other social networks. Here’s how I found out, and what you can do about it. While working on another post on how to avoid connecting with fake LinkedIn profiles, I took a closer look at a connection request I had received through LinkedIn, which I had identified as spam.

I knew it was a fake profile and a spammy request because the profile had a small number of connections, had only one company listed under experience, the title “Manager” was mispelled as “mangar,” and the first name on the profile was “Myrtle.” Any one of those items might be understandable by itself, but add them all up and it was easy to spot this as a fake profile. Normally all I would do in this situation would be to click the “X” and ignore the request. But I got curious and did a little more research, and that’s where things got interesting.

I knew the photo was of a real person, because I could see the photo. But whose photo was it? And what would they think of it being used by spammers? Google’s Chrome browser has a handy feature that allows you to right click on an image on a website, and then “Search Google for this Image.” The search can find matching images even if the file name, size, and dimensions have been changed. If Myrtle’s photo were being used by a spammer, I thought it might show up on other fake profiles. I’ve blurred details from the screenshot below and intentionally blocked the image to protect the identity of its owner.

Sure enough, the results I got from Google showed that the same photo was being used on other website profiles. The photo was used on a multi-level marketing message board profile page, a Google+ profile, and on a Facebook profile. The names associated with the photo were different on each website, and every profile but one appeared to be fake.

In one instance the photo appeared on a staff profile page for the employee of a law firm. The website, and the profile, appeared to be legitimate. I emailed the staff member, whose name was not Myrtle (although we’ll continue to use it to protect the innocent), and she confirmed the photo was hers. However, she knew nothing about her photo being used on these other websites and was understandably perplexed as to how and why it might have happened.

I explained to her that someone had found her photo, probably on the law firm website where she works, and had decided it was nice looking and would work well for their illegitimate uses. As to why, I’m less certain, although I did a bit of investigating to try and find out. I noticed the Facebook page with Myrtle’s photo linked to three websites, which I was able to track to the same owner. I contacted him via email, but he denied any knowledge of these fake profiles.

However, within 24 hours the Facebook and Google+ profile pages had disappeared. That was several months ago. Today, the LinkedIn profile is still active, and there are several other new social media profiles where Myrtle’s photo is being used under a host of pseudonyms. Whether they are being used by one person or many I can’t tell. In every case, I suspect this is part of someone’s online marketing strategy. But I’m an SEO expert, and I’m stumped as to how this could be an effective marketing strategy in any way.

Using Google’s “Search Google for this Image” feature you can search for your own image to see if it’s being used by someone else. What should you do if your photo is being used without your permission? Contact the website or the profile using it and chances are they’ll get scared and remove it. If it matters enough to you to pursue legal action, make sure you take screenshots of all the evidence, because the next time you come back they may be gone.

“We have systems in place to identify and remove fake or inappropriate profiles and we also make it easy for members to report a profile they believe to be fake,” said Crystal Braswell, Manager, Corporate Communications at LinkedIn. “To report a profile that you suspect is fake, just click on the black arrow at the top of the profile in question, just to the right of their photo and select ‘block or report’ from the drop down menu. This action triggers a review of the profile. Additional information around reporting a fake profile or filing a formal complaint can be found in our help center.” Other social networks offer similar functionality or you may report the matter to them through their support channels.

As far as preventing the infringement in the first place, there isn’t much you can do, short of being ugly. I was somewhat disappointed nothing turned up when I did a Google search for my own profile photos. You could also opt to never use a photo of yourself online. But excluding those two options, using Google’s image search to find photos and contacting the offender is the best way to assure your photo shows up where you want it to, and only where you want it to [Forbes].