LinkedIn used to be a relatively secure online oasis for job hunters. In an effort to find work, you were able to get in touch with business executives, organizations you wanted to work for, as well as former and present coworkers. And you managed to accomplish everything while avoiding LinkedIn scammers.

However, when employment scammers appeared, everything was different. Before, you would be thrilled if a recruiter contacted you via LinkedIn and requested your resume and cover letter, but these days, you never know if you're really speaking to a recruiter or not. Here are some guidelines for avoiding LinkedIn scams and staying secure online.

● Know who you’re talking to.

Imagine that a recruiting manager contacts you because he has read your profile and believes you are the best fit for the position he is attempting to fill. Do some research before sending your cover letter and CV. Start by looking at his LinkedIn profile. Is it fully filled out and complete? Does he have a wide network? Does he represent a reputable company? Investigate this guy online to see if you can confirm his identity if you can't figure it out from his LinkedIn page.

● Pay no money Ever

You receive an InMail from a headhunter offering to support your job search. The problem is that he demands payment upfront. While paying someone to speed up your job search is not unheard of, you should never pay someone up front. If you're asked to do it in advance, you can be in the thick of some LinkedIn spam.

● Be sensible

You've been looking for work for a while and you're starting to feel a little desperate. So you're excited when a recruiter asks to have an interview. However, he requests to conduct the interview at 11:00 p.m. over instant chat. You wouldn't be expected to attend an interview at a time that is unusual for where you live, even if you were applying for a telecommuting job with a company that is several hours ahead of you. Similar to instant messaging interviews, a job scam will never use these methods. If you are asked to do either, be aware that you are about to fall victim to fraud.

● Examine your email

For a possible job opportunity, it's one thing for a recruiter to get in touch with you via LinkedIn. But if the follow-up emails come from a Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo email address, that's a different story. If a professional recruiter or hiring manager is considering you, he should ideally be affiliated with a business and have access to its email account. If you're hesitant, you may always get in touch with the business to make sure the person is employed there and to validate his email address.

After all, some cunning con artists will take a legitimate company's email address and make a small modification to it. A fraudster might change the email address to read john@agoldencompany.com if, for instance, the company you're scheduled to interview with is Golden Company, Inc. Therefore, when verifying email addresses, take particular care.

● Be mindful of links

Some con artists may contact you with a job offer and instruct you to click a link to visit the company's website. Be cautious about what you click on as often these are phishing schemes. To see where the hyperlink will lead you, simply hover your cursor over it. You're heading in the direction of a job scam if it's not LinkedIn (or a legitimate company's website).

Even while LinkedIn is still a fantastic tool for job hunters, you should be cautious of scammers. After all, LinkedIn has over 300 million users, making it a haven for job scammers. So to avoid LinkedIn spam, be careful of hyperlinks, improperly written emails, slightly altered company names, and email addresses, and requests for payment to help you find work. You may use LinkedIn to connect with actual people and locate real employment if you apply some caution. And it's not a con.