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How to Keep Your LinkedIn Professional Reputation After an Account Hijack

UUnknown

2026-02-17

10 min read

Act fast to stop a LinkedIn hijack: lock the account, notify key contacts, report impersonation and reclaim endorsements with proven templates.

When your LinkedIn account is hijacked, your career may feel like it is on the line. Here’s how to tell your contacts, stop impersonators, reclaim endorsements and repair professional damage — step by step.

Immediate panic is normal. But the first hours you act determine whether the incident becomes a short outage or a long-term career problem. This guide gives a clear 24-hour triage, proven notification templates, legal signposting for UK professionals and an action plan to rebuild reputation in 2026’s threat landscape.

Why this matters now: 2026 trends you need to know

Cybersecurity coverage in January 2026 flagged a spike in LinkedIn-focused account-takeover and "policy violation" attacks that abuse platform reporting flows and social engineering to silence victims or impersonate them, often to push scams or disinformation. Attackers increasingly use intelligent automation and deepfake profile photos to bypass basic checks. At the same time, adoption of passkeys and platform-backed identity is rising — but not everyone has these protections configured.

Implication: A hijack no longer just risks a few fake posts. It can damage client relationships, cost job offers, disrupt referrals and erase hard-won endorsements. That means proactive communication and evidence preservation are essential.

First 24 hours — triage checklist (do these now)

Confirm whether you still control the account. If you can log in, immediately change your password to a long, unique one and enable two-step verification or passkeys. Go to Settings & Privacy > Sign in & security.
Sign out other sessions. Revoke all active sessions and remove unknown devices under the same Sign in & security area.
Revoke third-party access. Remove any suspicious third-party apps that have permission to your profile.
Reset recovery contacts. Confirm the account-recovery email and phone number are yours and not modified.
If you cannot log in, start an official account recovery. Use LinkedIn’s Help Center "Account Access" forms and include your full name, profile URL, registration email and a government ID if requested.
Capture evidence. Take screenshots of any malicious posts, messages sent by the hijacked account, the profile URL and the profile’s current public view. Time-stamp your screenshots and save them to a secure folder.
Report the profile immediately. Use LinkedIn’s Report function on the profile page and select impersonation or account takeover. Keep the ticket number or confirmation email and follow recommendations from security & trust guides when confirming scams.

Note: In January 2026 cyber analysts warned that attackers are combining credential stuffing with false policy reports to silence account owners. Quick, documented action helps you prove you were the victim, not the instigator.

Template: Urgent account recovery message to LinkedIn support

Subject: URGENT — Account Hijacked / Request Immediate Recovery

Hello LinkedIn Support Team,

My account was hijacked on [date and time, timezone]. I cannot access it. Profile URL: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourprofile]. Registered email: [you@domain.com]. I have attached screenshots showing unauthorized content and evidence of my identity (photo ID) and request immediate restoration and removal of any content posted by the intruder.

Please provide a ticket number and expected response time. I am available at [mobile number] and [alternate email].

Thank you,
[Your full name]

Notify contacts: who to tell and how

Notifying the right people in the right order limits reputational harm. Prioritise private, high-value contacts first, then broadcast a public clarifying notice.

Priority notification order

Current employer and HR — they must know first if client or internal messaging was affected.
Key clients and vendors — notify anyone who could have been targeted via the hijacked account.
Recruiters and hiring managers — if you are actively job-seeking, reach out directly to prevent lost opportunities.
Close professional network and referrals — people who regularly endorse or refer you.
All connections (public post) — a short pinned statement to your network once immediate private notifications are sent.

Template: Private DM to top contacts

Hi [Name],

Quick note: my LinkedIn account was hijacked on [date]. The intruder may have messaged people from my profile. I have reported the account and opened an account recovery request with LinkedIn support.

If you received any suspicious message from me about investments, links, or urgent requests, please ignore and do not click links. I will confirm when my account is back under my control.

Thanks for your patience — I’ll update you directly.

[Your name] | [email] | [phone]

Template: Public post to the network (short, factual)

Important: My LinkedIn account was compromised on [date]. I have reported the issue and am recovering the account now. If you received any unusual messages from me, please ignore them and let me know. I’ll post an update when my account is secure.

— [Your name]

Stopping impersonation and removing fake accounts

If someone creates a cloned profile or changes your profile while blocking you out, follow these steps:

Report the fake profile. Use the Report feature, choose impersonation and supply evidence (screenshots, links to your original account, proof of identity).
Request URL takedown of clones. If multiple clones exist, note each profile URL and include them in your LinkedIn support case.
Alert your employer or brand team. If the imposter references your company or clients, notify your communications team promptly — they can issue brand cautions.
If defamatory content is posted, preserve evidence and demand removal. Keep a dated record and reference it in reports to LinkedIn and, if needed, to legal counsel.

Reclaiming endorsements, recommendations and network trust

Endorsements and recommendations are social proof. When a hijack occurs they may be removed or their value damaged. Use a deliberate re-ask strategy rather than a scattershot plea.

Practical steps to restore endorsements

Identify top endorsers. Export your connections list and prioritise those who gave the most visible endorsements and recommendations.
Send a personalised re-endorsement request. Ask them to re-endorse specific skills and to republish recommendations if needed.
Use a short, suggested sentence. Busy peers will often copy a suggested wording — include one to make action easy.

Template: Re-endorsement / recommendation request

Hi [Name],

My LinkedIn was recently compromised and I’m rebuilding endorsements and recommendations. Would you mind re-endorsing my skills in [Skill 1, Skill 2]? If you’re willing to re-publish a short recommendation, here’s a suggested sentence you can use or edit:

"I worked with [Your Name] at [Company]. They demonstrated excellent [skill/quality]. I recommend them for [role/skill]."

Thank you so much for your support — it really helps reset my professional profile.

Best,
[Your name]

Addressing career impact: recruiter, employer and client outreach

If the incident coincided with job applications, interviews, or client outreach, be proactive:

Email recruiters and hiring contacts directly. Explain the incident briefly and offer to provide documentation of your recovery and LinkedIn support ticket.
Update application materials. Add a short line on a cover note or email explaining the incident if relevant, and provide alternative professional references.
Offer verification calls. For high-risk roles, offer a short video or phone call to re-establish trust.

Template: Email to recruiter after an account compromise

Subject: Quick update — LinkedIn incident and application for [role]

Hi [Recruiter name],

I wanted to let you know my LinkedIn was recently compromised. I’ve reported it to LinkedIn and am in the process of recovering endorsements and recommendations. This does not affect my references or the documents I shared with you. If you need further verification, I’m happy to arrange a short call with a former manager or provide additional references.

Thanks for understanding,
[Your name] | [phone]

Evidence collection and legal escalation in the UK

Preserve a clear, dated trail of what happened. This is critical for both platform recovery and any legal action.

Save screenshots with time stamps and the profile URL (see file management tips for organising evidence).
Export your LinkedIn data (Settings & Privacy > Get a copy of your data) to show account history and messages.
Log all communications with LinkedIn support, clients and employers; keep ticket numbers and dates.
Report to Action Fraud if you are in the UK and the hijack led to financial loss or impersonation-based fraud.
Contact the ICO if the breach included personal data exposures — you may need to escalate under UK GDPR rules.
Consider legal counsel for defamation, impersonation or material career damage; a solicitor can send formal takedown or cease-and-desist letters.

Advanced prevention and future-proofing (2026-ready)

Security practices are evolving. Here’s how to stay ahead in 2026:

Adopt passkeys or hardware security keys. 2025–26 saw a big industry shift toward passkeys (FIDO2) which prevent credential reuse attacks — learn more about edge identity and passkeys here.
Use a reputable password manager. Generate long unique passwords for LinkedIn and all associated recovery emails — a good primer on trimming tool sprawl can help (Too Many Tools?).
Limit profile editors and 3rd-party apps. Remove unnecessary integrations and regularly audit connected apps.
Monitor brand mentions and alerts. Set Google Alerts for your name and consider lightweight scraping or monitoring tooling if your role is high-risk (monitoring mentions).
Train network to verify unusual requests. Share best-practices with colleagues: verify urgent requests via phone or known email addresses (see practical scam-prevention guides at security & trust).

Real-world example

Case: A UK consultant’s account was hijacked in late 2025. The attacker messaged 15 clients asking for urgent transfers. The consultant followed a rapid response: reported to LinkedIn, notified clients via SMS and email, preserved screenshots, and reopened the account with passkeys. Most clients ignored the requests because of the quick private notifications. For lost endorsements, the consultant sent personalised re-endorsement requests to 20 top contacts; 14 re-endorsed within 10 days. The consultant avoided career damage and received a formal apology from LinkedIn after escalation through Action Fraud and the ICO.

Quick checklist: what to do next (actionable takeaways)

Within 1 hour: Change passwords if you can log in, enable 2FA, revoke sessions, capture screenshots.
Within 4 hours: Report to LinkedIn, contact employer/HR and key clients, start account recovery if locked out.
Within 24 hours: Send a public notice to your network, request re-endorsements from top contacts, export data (see file-management best practices).
Within 7 days: Continue outreach to recruiters/clients, monitor mentions, consider contacting Action Fraud or ICO.

Templates & checklist (copy and use)

Use the templates above as a starting point. Keep a folder for:

LinkedIn support messages and ticket numbers
Screenshots of malicious activity
Sent messages to contacts and the public post
List of priority contacts for re-endorsement

Final notes — pragmatic, not panicked

Account hijacks are increasingly common in 2026. The difference between a short event and long-term career damage is how quickly and transparently you respond. Be factual in your communications, prioritise private notifications to reduce harm, and collect evidence for platform and legal escalation.

Reputation recovery is a process. Most professionals fully recover if they act fast, secure the account properly and re-engage their network with clear, concise requests. Use the templates in this guide to make that process as frictionless as possible.

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