How LinkedIn Got My Client Names Without My Knowledge

[Evo]

I was invited to sign up for LinkedIn years ago by a friend, never did a profile except a job title.

What made me check is that I just got an e-mail from linkedIn asking if I know this list of people that I might want to add. What is upsetting is that the people listed are old clients of mine from around the country. How could LinkedIn have gotten their names associated with me? I only have 3 "connections" and they're not clients, nor are they co-workers. My profile is set up as "anonymous", the only thing linking me to this odd assortment of people would have been confidential work e-mails. But I didn't list my work e-mail with LinkedIn, just my company name. My work e-mail is my name and company. Could LinkedIn have hacked into my work e-mail and gotten a list of my clients? I don't have anyone from work as a connection. There is nothing that would link me to these people except confidential work e-mail.

There is no possibility of "mutual friends" like FB suggestions.

This is really not good.

Any thoughts?

 

[QuarkCharmer]

Linkedin is in the business of collecting your personal information. They could have cookied you and then tracked you whenever you visited another site that may have had a linked in button/link, or is an affiliate site.

You can contact customer service on their site and delete yourself. They make it as much of a hassle as possible. It's best to assume that you are always being tracked on the internet. Your clients could have somehow linked you to them, or another site, or your browsing habits. I had to remove myself from linkedin once, they had a good bit of info on me too, and I NEVER signed up for their service.

 

[Evo]

Linkedin is in the business of collecting your personal information. They could have cookied you and then tracked you whenever you visited another site that may have had a linked in button/link, or is an affiliate site.

You can contact customer service on their site and delete yourself. They make it as much of a hassle as possible. It's best to assume that you are always being tracked on the internet. Your clients could have somehow linked you to them, or another site, or your browsing habits. I had to remove myself from linkedin once, they had a good bit of info on me too, and I NEVER signed up for their service.

This is the first time in at least 4 years that I have logged into linkedIn. I have never connected to LinkedIn on this computer that I purchased over 2 years ago. I have never used LinkedIn on my work computer. So it's not tracking. The only contact with those clients was work e-mail on my work computer and by phone. I've never been to their websites. The clients are in all different industries and all over the country. I don't belong to any groups or societies or anything that would associate me.

Someone that regularly uses LinkedIn and has a lot of connections probably would assume that the people just turned up as a result of their activity. I know for a fact that's not my case. The only possibility is that they got the information from e-mail, mine or my clients.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

They probably got it from your clients then. They probably have some api to input your contacts from email/outlook/whatever. In that case you should blame the clients.

Much like when you sign up for Facebook and it's all like "Hey new person! Do you want to give us access to your personal email so we can search through it for information on the people around you, your interests, and other facts about your life (and those around you), so we can better serve you all ads? Except linkedin uses the data to create profiles to make it look like they have more active users on the site.

 

[Evo]

They probably got it from your clients then. They probably have some api to input your contacts from email/outlook/whatever. In that case you should blame the clients.

Much like when you sign up for Facebook and it's all like "Hey new person! Do you want to give us access to your personal email so we can search through it for information on the people around you, your interests, and other facts about your life (and those around you), so we can better serve you all ads? Except linkedin uses the data to create profiles to make it look like they have more active users on the site.

So they stole these people's contact lists? (I have never set up e-mail contact lists for security reasons). That would be illegal, correct?

 

[QuarkCharmer]

I'm sure they didn't steal it. The clients probably opted into "allowing them" to "borrow" their contacts to "aide in user experience". People that don't know any better probably think it's a fantastic idea to integrate their contacts with linkedin, or, they simply didn't read what they were clicking.

 

[Evo]

I'm sure they didn't steal it. The clients probably opted into "allowing them" to "borrow" their contacts to "aide in user experience". People that don't know any better probably think it's a fantastic idea to integrate their contacts with linkedin, or, they simply didn't read what they were clicking.

I don't get people wanting to share every aspect of their lives publicly. I guess a lot of people share and don't know it.

Thanks Quark.

 

[leright]

Those people probably searched for and viewed your profile.

 

[I like Serena]

Those people probably searched for and viewed your profile.

Exactly. They logged in on LinkedIn and clicked your profile.
There! LinkedIn now knows they are connected somehow to you.

 

[rhody]

Thanks Evo, QC,

I have a useless LinkedIn account too. I will go through the trouble to remove myself. I don't ever use it. I do get e-mails from them though from the few contacts that I do have with them. Thanks...

Rhody...

 

[Evo]

Those people probably searched for and viewed your profile.

I'm very popular.

So an anonymous profile, they can see my name, maybe my job title and nothing else, no contact information, from what I read. I don't have a picture posted.

 

[micromass]

This is seriously creepy actually...

This is exactly why I don't do "social" network sites like facebook or LinkedIn.

 

[rhody]

This is seriously creepy actually...

This is exactly why I don't do "social" network sites like facebook or LinkedIn.

Pengy said this in another thread awhile ago concerning FB, LinkedIn, etc..., half seriously that all of these applications are run by the CIA. Makes you wonder doesn't it ?

Rhody...

 

[Hurkyl]

Pengy said this in another thread awhile ago concerning FB, LinkedIn, etc..., half seriously that all of these applications are run by the CIA. Makes you wonder doesn't it ?

Rhody...

That was just light from Venus reflecting off of a pocket of swamp gas. Er wait, wrong denial...

 

[Evo]

Pengy said this in another thread awhile ago concerning FB, LinkedIn, etc..., half seriously that all of these applications are run by the CIA. Makes you wonder doesn't it ?

Rhody...

I kind of doubt it. You wouldn't believe what & where the CIA operates though. I want to tell you a funny story about how I (and the others that worked government accounts in my office) was accidently given a list of undercover CIA "businesses", but I can't. Or maybe they were FBI, I can't remember. The accounts vanished quickly.

 

[rhody]

I want to tell you a funny story about how I (and the others that worked government accounts in my office) was accidently given a list of undercover CIA "businesses", but I can't.

Or I will have to kill you, or haul you off to jail, lol... :rofl:
Don't feed my fears Evo, I can scare myself pretty well all on my own...

Rhody...