Exposing the LinkedIn Rental Scam with OSINT Techniques

I Investigated a LinkedIn Rental Scam I Found on Facebook — Here's What I Found

As I mentioned earlier, I recently completed my OSINT training and have been looking for real-world cases to practice my skills. And today, I found one.

This morning, while scrolling through Facebook, I came across a suspicious post offering money in exchange for renting out LinkedIn accounts. It immediately raised a red flag. I thought — this is worth checking. So, I started investigating.

General Information

Is the LinkedIn Rental Scheme a Scam?

Yes — it is, certainly.

From what I have seen and read, these schemes often do pay users. But after getting access, they use your LinkedIn account for suspicious or harmful activities, resulting in your account being permanently banned, as reported by victims.

They claim they need accounts for “brand marketing,” but that doesn’t make much sense. Why would someone pay for random LinkedIn profiles instead of using LinkedIn’s ad platform, where they can choose their target audience directly? It sounds fake, and it probably is.

Another red flag is what they do after accessing your account. They often change your personal information like:

• Name
• Nationality
• Photo
• Education

to something completely different. Then, they refrain you from logging in while they are doing their “marketing.”

That’s not how marketing works. You don’t need to change someone’s full identity just to promote a brand. It’s more likely that these accounts are used for catfishing, impersonation, or even bigger scams.

Is It Dangerous to Rent Your LinkedIn Account?

Absolutely. I can’t stress this enough.

Your online account is like your digital identity. Giving it to someone you don’t know is like letting a stranger wear your face and do whatever they want, and you won’t even know what they are doing.

They might use your profile for illegal activities like fraud, blackmail, human trafficking, or ransomware scams. And they’ll do it under your name — while hiding their real identity. If anything happens, you’re the one who will be blamed or investigated.

Even worse, they might be using these accounts to run underground operations or recruit people for harmful purposes. And since it's all happening through your profile, you might not even know until it’s too late.

My Investigation

The Facebook Ad

The ad came from a profile named Rosee Lee. The account looked empty — just a profile picture and a short bio asking users to rent their LinkedIn accounts.

I searched for the username across other platforms, but it didn’t bring up anything useful. So I changed my method.

Instead of tracking the username, I used text-oriented OSINT; I copied the text of the bio and searched it on Google. This led me to several similar results on Facebook and one on Threads.

Here’s what I found:

• A Facebook page named Renters.com, offering the same type of “LinkedIn rental” service.
• Group posts from unknown profiles.
• One profile of an African man. His account had no activity for over two years, except for the LinkedIn rental post. That made me think his account was hacked and is now being misused.

The Threads Profile

Next, I looked into a Threads profile named Javed Iqbal (@javediqbal7303). The account had 0 followers but posted regularly. Most of the content looked copied from other places. I couldn’t get much from this account alone.

Then I searched his username on Google. That’s when I found his Instagram account, which had more real data.

Who Is Javed Iqbal?

On Instagram, Javed’s profile showed that he was likely a middle-aged man from Islamabad. His posts included:

• Photos of a child (blurred for privacy)
• Check-ins at places like Serena Hotel
• Posts related to Islamabad Police — including FIRs, crime reports, and pictures from police meetings

This showed that he might have some connection with local police — or at least wants people to think that.

I also found some of his own photos, which helped confirm his identity.

To find contact information, I used the "Forgot Password" option on his Instagram. It showed a partially hidden email address and its length.

f*******s@gmail.com

While I couldn’t find the full address, this still added another layer of confirmation.

Until now, I’ve only used surface-level OSINT techniques — no sockpuppet accounts or fake profiles. But with sockpuppets, much more can be revealed in the future.

Bottom Line

The LinkedIn Rental Scheme is a shady and risky business. People are asked to give away access to their LinkedIn profiles for unclear “marketing” tasks, in return for a small amount of money.

This activity looks like a decentralized scam. In some cases, the criminals handle accounts directly. In others, they use middlemen to find victims and pass on the credentials.

I believe Javed Iqbal is one such middleman. The real people behind this operation are still unknown. But with just a small amount of effort, I was able to find one link in a much larger network.

This investigation shows how even surface-level OSINT can uncover real risks. With more advanced tools and tactics like sockpuppeting and deep profiling, we can go even further.