by Karen S. Elliott & Therese Pope
Continued from yesterday’s Part I of How to Protect Your Online Rep from Spammers & Scammers.
LinkedIn
The purpose of LinkedIn is to connect with other people in
your career field or in complimentary fields. LI requires that “invitations”
are sent, and accepted. Your first connections should be carefully considered.
Once you establish your first connections, you can branch out by joining groups.
LinkedIn is NOT a sales platform and should not be used to blatantly “sell” or
advertise products or services – spammy behavior will get you quickly banned.
Connect with LI groups
First, find groups that are specific to your purpose of
having a LinkedIn account. Are you a writer? Look for writing-specific groups
like publishing, editing, and specific genre sites like horror, children’s
books, ebooks, and so on.
If you want to join a specific group based upon your
profession/industry, use LinkedIn’s “Search” function and click on “Groups”.
For example, if you are a marketer or copywriter, search for keywords such as
copywriting, marketing, sales and marketing, advertising, social media
marketing, public relations, etc. Make sure to join complimentary groups
(people who might need your services). For example, if you are a copywriter and
write web copy check out creative groups such as web design, web developers,
graphic design, graphic artists, etc.
If you have made a connection with a person and you realize
they have become caustic, disconnect. You will still see their posts on group
pages. Group administrators are usually good about getting rid of problem
members, but if you find the administrator is not reacting, send a personal message
to him/her.
Beware of fake profiles/accounts on LinkedIn. Some warning
signs: no photo or the photo looks like a stock or fake image, they fill in their
profile/summary with repetitive keywords, their profile is blank or not filled
in completely, etc.
When sending an invitation, don’t just send the generic
template “invitation request.” Include a personal note about yourself and how
you can be of assistance to the other person.
How to Report Spam
& Abuse/Harassment on LinkedIn
Refer to LinkedIn Help Center for specific questions and
topics related to spam and violation of Terms of Service, etc.
Google+
See Google+ Account Privacy settings, under Account Overview
– you can edit visibility. In the upper right corner, the little tools icon
(looks like a bumpy wheel). Click that, you’ll get a drop-down, Google+
settings …
How to set up circles
- You can also set which users (those in your circles) will see posts. Set
circles for family, friends, business associates, etc.
How to get rid of
someone in a circle – Click on the circles icon (different colored circles
in a button, top middle). Click Remove (right, near the top). Easy peasy. If
and when they come back at you, you have the option to Ignore.
Basic safety
precautions for adults and your teens
Don’t share too much information on where you live, the
hours you work, where your young children or grandchildren go to school, or
when you are going on vacation. It would be a really bad idea to announce,
“We’re going to Disney World in two weeks!” (this gives the robbers plenty of
time to plan).
The worst is
happening
You have set all your safety and security parameters, you
have protected your profile, you are cautious about who you connect to. And you
have some bone-head who won’t leave you alone.
Important step – TELL THEM you want to be left alone -
Tell the abuser to stop. Make it clear, keep it simple, i.e. “Do not contact me
in any way in the future.” And then DO NOT RESPOND to them after that.
If you feel it’s necessary, contact the page/forum/group and
tell them what’s happening, who’s doing the harassing, and so on.
Keep a record of everything – save the posts, tweets,
comments in a special file – you may need it if you have to report it to the
authorities.
The next step
If you feel you are being abused or targeted or you have
actually received threats, contact legal counsel and/or contact authorities.
“Watchdog”
organizations that help prevent cyber bullying & online stalking:
This form allows you to report a cyber stalker to
QuitStalkingMe:
For Kids &
Parents:
Government
organizations:
Federal Trade
Commission – Fraud & ID theft http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/tech/privacy.shtm
Reporting to
authorities, FBI
FBI.gov site - “How to Protect Your Computer” http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/computer_protect
“How to File a Complaint with the IC3” http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
“Prevention Tips” http://www.ic3.gov/preventiontips.aspx#item-9
Great working with you Therese. We'll have to do it again soon! :)
ReplyDeleteMost definitely, Karen! :)
ReplyDelete