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So few days ago I got a contact request from a former manager at a former company, accepted. Wondered why there wasn't much information on the profile and only a few connections.

Today noticed that there is another profile, that looks much more real (more information, more contacts etc.). I disconnected from the potential "fake" profile just in case.

Should I send him a message, asking him about the two profiles (to which of the profiles, out-of-band)?

Maybe he just forgot his password and setup a new account. Maybe he already knows about it.

Context: I haven't had contact with him since I left the company.

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  • it has only 10 connections the other one has nearly 200. No personal information (previous companies, education etc.).
    – arved
    Feb 11, 2017 at 22:01

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Yes, of course tell him. Why would you possibly not? These unauthorised 'clone' accounts are very common on Linkedin, Facebook etc. A friendly warning that there seems to be one using his name can only be seen as helpful. It's vaguely possible he's started a new account for some reason. In which case no harm will be done.

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  • +1 of course tell him, this happened to me recently too, it's a popular LinkedIn phishing trick.
    – mxyzplk
    Feb 11, 2017 at 19:08
  • Why would tou possibly not? Because contacting someone out of the blue because of his social media (not-)usage may be a bit unprofessional
    – arved
    Feb 12, 2017 at 14:02
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    But it's not out of the blue. It's someone you used to work with, who has seemingly sent you a contact request. You don't exactly have a Duty of Care to him, but he deserves to know if he's being spoofed.
    – Laurence
    Feb 12, 2017 at 15:00

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