IT is one of the world’s most popular professional online networks but LinkedIn users are being warned about a new scam targeting them.

Action Fraud has issued an alert about fake emails purporting to come from LinkedIn, which claim the user’s profile has appeared in multiple searches. They are instructed to click on links for more details, but these lead to malicious websites designed to steal personal and financial details.

Action Fraud advises users: “Always question unsolicited requests for your personal or financial information in case it’s a scam. Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text.”

The agency has issued another warning over criminals registering domain names to replicate UK university email addresses, a scam that has defrauded a number of British and European companies out of considerable sums of money – in one case more than £350,000.

It is known as European distribution fraud (EDA) and happens when an overseas company delivers products to the UK but is not paid for the either goods or shipping costs.

The fake domains are similar to genuine university addresses – with suffixes such as acu-uk.org and uk-ac.org. These are used to contact suppliers and order high value goods such as IT equipment and pharmaceuticals in the university’s name.

Suppliers, in turn, will receive an email claiming to come from a university, requesting a quotation for goods on extended payment terms. Once this has been provided, a fake purchase order is sent to the supplier, which typically instructs delivery to an address, which may or may not be affiliated with the university.

Criminals receive the goods, but the supplier is not paid.

Pauline Smith, Action Fraud’s director, said: “This type of fraud can have a serious impact on businesses.

“This is why it’s so important to spot the signs and carry out all the necessary checks, such as verifying the order and checking any documents for poor spelling and grammar.

“We know that there is a lack of reporting by affected companies and without this vital intelligence, a true picture of EDF cannot be reflected.”