How to avoid LinkedIn spam after hiring a freelancer for a gig and leaving a review?

[foxhoundsystems]

Hello Fiverr community. I recently hired a top rated freelancer in the lead generation space for a gig for finding leads relevant to my business.

To my dismay, after the gig was finished and I left a review, I've been getting LinkedIn spam connections and messages from other people selling their lead generation services. I made my Fiverr username my business name, and I also used my real name for my profile info (which I have since shortened to "FirstName LastInitial").

See below for a screenshot of what I'm talking about in my LinkedIn (sensitive info blurred).

Have you experienced this? What's your suggestion for avoiding this?

Thanks!

[vickieito]

@foxhoundsystems, my username is my actual name and I never get that many messages/invites from LInkedin (even though it would be very easy to find me). I've only gotten a handful in the past 12 months and I ignored all those requests.

Do you think your information was shared as a "lead" to other lead generation specialists?

I've had a data entry specialist go behind my back and posted my confidential file on YouTube without my consent (he created a "How to" video using my data and was angry that I demanded he take the video down - he put in a lot effort to make that video). In my case, the data entry specialist had over 1k 5-star reviews so I thought I could trust him. He told me he "always" creates videos from his client's information and never had to ask for permission to use their data. That really shocked me.

[foxhoundsystems]

2 hours ago, vickieito said:

@foxhoundsystems, my username is my actual name and I never get that many messages/invites from LInkedin (even though it would be very easy to find me). I've only gotten a handful in the past 12 months and I ignored all those requests.

Do you think your information was shared as a "lead" to other lead generation specialists?

Hi @vickieito. Thanks for the perspective/warning. While possible, I find this unlikely. If the freelancer I hired shared my info, he'd be encouraging competition and diminishing the chance of repeat business from me. I'm being contacted about the exact same service that I hired the original freelancer for.

I started getting contacted after I posted the review at the end of the gig, so I'm assuming these other contacts are reaching out to this top-reviewed lead generation freelancer's reviewers with the hope of siphoning off some business.

[vickieito]

5 minutes ago, foxhoundsystems said:

Hi @vickieito. Thanks for the perspective/warning. While possible, I find this unlikely. If the freelancer I hired shared my info, he'd be encouraging competition and diminishing the chance of repeat business from me. I'm being contacted about the exact same service that I hired the original freelancer for.

I started getting contacted after I posted the review at the end of the gig, so I'm assuming these other contacts are reaching out to this top-reviewed lead generation freelancer's reviewers with the hope of siphoning off some business.

Good point. I guess you can report every one of them using the flag button. They're all violating ToS for trying to spam a buyer and contact you off the platform. Even if they are directing you back to Fiverr.

Edited October 10, 2022 by vickieito