The checker reads one suspicious email. Batmail reads your whole inbox overnight.
Paste the LinkedIn email into the checker and it reads it for the signs below.
The checker reads the sender address, the wording, any link address you paste with the email and what the email asks you to do. It gives a verdict, a risk score from 0 to 100, the exact wording behind each red flag and what to do next. It is free and needs no signup.
Batmail phishing email checker
A fake LinkedIn email says your account is limited, demands action now and asks you to open a file.
LinkedIn’s page on phishing lists the common signs of a fake message and shows real examples of the notices scammers send. The email below is invented, and each number is one of the signs.
Example
Dear LinkedIn User,
A temporary limitation has been placed on your LinkedIn account.
Verify it now, or your account will be locked.
Open the attached file to install a software update.
The button says linkedin.com/verify
The sender's address is at a domain that is not LinkedIn's.
LinkedIn says it has several email domains, and names linkedin_support@cs.linkedin.com, linkedin@e.linkedin.com and linkedin@el.linkedin.com as emails that are not phishing. An address at a domain someone else owns is not LinkedIn's.
A greeting that does not use your name.
LinkedIn lists messages that aren't addressed to you personally, with bad spelling and grammar, among the common indicators of a phishing message.
A demand to act immediately.
LinkedIn lists messages asking you to act immediately among the common indicators of a phishing message.
An attachment to open to install a software update.
LinkedIn lists messages asking you to open an attachment to install a software update as a common indicator, and says it will never ask you to download any programs.
A button that says linkedin.com and goes somewhere else.
The label on a button is not the address it opens. LinkedIn says that when in doubt you should open a new browser window and go directly to LinkedIn.com.
From LinkedIn Help: Phishing content, read 9 November 2026.
From LinkedIn Help: Security footer message in LinkedIn emails, read 9 November 2026.
Read the sender's address from the right, because the last two parts say who owns it.
Anyone can put “LinkedIn” in front of an address. The part to read is the domain, after the @ in a sender or after the https:// in a link. Read it from the right: the last two parts name the owner, and everything in front of them is only a label the owner chose. LinkedIn’s own email address linkedin@e.linkedin.com has e.linkedin.com as its domain, and the owner of that address is linkedin.com. LinkedIn says it has several email domains, so a name in front of the owner’s part proves nothing by itself.
Read the domain from the right
e.linkedin.com
From LinkedInOwned by linkedin.com. LinkedIn names linkedin@e.linkedin.com as one of the addresses that are not phishing.
linkedin.com.verify-profile.example
Not from LinkedInOwned by verify-profile.example. linkedin.com is only a label in front of it.
linkedin-account-verify.example
Not from LinkedInOwned by linkedin-account-verify.example. The name has LinkedIn in it, but the owner is someone else.
From LinkedIn Help: Phishing content, read 9 November 2026.
LinkedIn says it will never ask you for your password or ask you to download any programs.
LinkedIn’s page on phishing gives a short list of signs and names three addresses that are not phishing. A fake account notice breaks at least one of the rules.
| Question | What LinkedIn says | What a fake account notice does |
|---|---|---|
| Will LinkedIn ask for my password or a download? | What LinkedIn saysLinkedIn says it will never ask you for your password or ask you to download any programs. | What a fake account notice doesAsks you to open a file to install an update. |
| Which sender addresses are real? | What LinkedIn saysLinkedIn says it has several email domains, and that emails from linkedin_support@cs.linkedin.com, linkedin@e.linkedin.com and linkedin@el.linkedin.com are not phishing emails. | What a fake account notice doesComes from a domain someone else owns. |
| What are the common signs of a fake? | What LinkedIn saysLinkedIn lists bad spelling and grammar with no personal address to you, a demand to act immediately, and a request to open an attachment to install a software update. | What a fake account notice doesSays "Dear LinkedIn User" and threatens to lock the account. |
| What is the security footer? | What LinkedIn saysLinkedIn says its messages include a footer with your name and professional headline, and that most phishing attacks aimed at large mailing lists won't have this information. | What a fake account notice doesLeaves it out, or shows no name. |
| What about a message inside LinkedIn? | What LinkedIn saysLinkedIn lists a sense of urgency, fake offers, brand impersonation and a false policy violation as signs of a phishing message or comment. | What a fake account notice doesSays your account broke a policy and must be verified. |
From LinkedIn Help: Phishing content, read 9 November 2026.
From LinkedIn Help: Security footer message in LinkedIn emails, read 9 November 2026.
Five steps tell you whether a LinkedIn email is real without clicking anything.
- Leave the button and any attachment alone. LinkedIn says it will never ask you to download any programs, and lists an attachment that installs a software update as a common sign of a fake.
- Read the sender’s actual address from the right, as in the picture above, and look for the security footer with your name and headline.
- Check by opening LinkedIn yourself. LinkedIn says that when in doubt you should open a new browser window and go directly to LinkedIn.com. The FTC says to contact a company using a phone number or website you know is real, not the information in the email.
- Paste the email into the checker at the top of this page for a second read.
- Forward the email to phishing@linkedin.com. For a message inside LinkedIn, click the More icon, then Report/Block, then It’s spam or a scam. In Gmail you can also choose More next to Reply, then Report phishing.
Steps from LinkedIn Help: Phishing content, read 9 November 2026.
Steps from FTC Consumer Advice: How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams, read 9 November 2026.
Steps from Gmail Help: Avoid & report phishing emails, read 9 November 2026.
If you opened a bad attachment or entered your password, LinkedIn says to scan your computer and change your password.
LinkedIn says that if you think you opened something harmful, you should scan your computer with a current version of antivirus software. If you entered your username and password on a fraudulent phishing site, it says to change your password as soon as possible. If your financial information was compromised, it says to contact your financial institution right away, place fraud alerts on your credit reports and keep a close eye on your account activity.
What to do depends on what you did
You only read it.
Forward it to phishing@linkedin.com.
You opened an attachment or entered your password.
Scan your computer with a current version of antivirus software, and change your password as soon as possible.
You gave financial details.
Contact your financial institution right away and place fraud alerts on your credit reports, then follow the steps at IdentityTheft.gov for what you shared.
From LinkedIn Help: Malware and bad links or attachments in fraudulent messages, read 9 November 2026.
From LinkedIn Help: Phishing content, read 9 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: What To Do if You Were Scammed, read 9 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams, read 9 November 2026.
Real LinkedIn emails you want fewer of are a different problem.
Not every LinkedIn email is a scam. The guide to stopping LinkedIn emails covers the real ones, and the guide to fake Microsoft emails covers another sign-in alert that borrows a work name. The holiday scam emails guide puts the kinds side by side.
These are the questions people ask next.
How can I tell a real LinkedIn email from a fake one?
LinkedIn says it has several email domains, and that emails from linkedin_support@cs.linkedin.com, linkedin@e.linkedin.com and linkedin@el.linkedin.com are not phishing emails. It lists three common signs of a phishing message: bad spelling and grammar and no personal address to you, a demand to act immediately, and a request to open an attachment to install a software update.
What does LinkedIn say it will never ask for?
LinkedIn says it will never ask you for your password or ask you to download any programs.
What is the security footer in a LinkedIn email?
LinkedIn says its messages include a security footer with your name and professional headline, to help you tell real LinkedIn emails from phishing emails. It says the footer alone doesn't guarantee that an email is legitimate, but that most phishing attacks aimed at large mailing lists won't have it. When in doubt, it says to open a new browser window and go directly to LinkedIn.com to check your inbox.
What do fake LinkedIn emails say?
LinkedIn's page shows real examples: a notice that a temporary limitation has been placed on your account and you must follow a link to remove it, a "Closing & Termination of your Account" notice that says your account will be locked unless you re-verify, and a "Profile Security Alert" that says your account will be terminated unless you verify it.
Where do I report a fake LinkedIn email?
LinkedIn says to forward the suspicious email to phishing@linkedin.com. For a message inside LinkedIn, it says to click the More icon, select Report/Block, then select It's spam or a scam. In Gmail you can also choose More next to Reply, then Report phishing.
What if I clicked a link or opened an attachment?
LinkedIn says that if you think you opened something harmful, you should scan your computer with a current version of antivirus software. If you entered your username and password on a fraudulent phishing site, it says to change your password as soon as possible. If your financial information was compromised, it says to contact your financial institution right away, place fraud alerts on your credit reports, and keep a close eye on your account activity.
Every step on this page comes from these official pages.
Read on . Spot a step that has changed? Email support@batmail.ai and we will fix it.
- LinkedIn Help: Phishing content
- LinkedIn Help: Security footer message in LinkedIn emails
- LinkedIn Help: Malware and bad links or attachments in fraudulent messages
- FTC Consumer Advice: What To Do if You Were Scammed
- FTC Consumer Advice: How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams
- IdentityTheft.gov
- Gmail Help: Avoid & report phishing emails