The Nigerian Prince Now Uses AI to Network
Usually, when a “recruiter” contacts me via LinkedIn messaging and asks for my email address so we can arrange a call with the hiring organization to learn more, I tell them two things: (a) see my LinkedIn profile or website for my email address, and (b) send me more concrete information from a corporate email address.
I almost never hear from them again.
Maybe these are AI bot-based general inquiries intended to establish a “relationship” for some nefarious but unknown future purpose. Recently, however, I did receive a follow-up email asking me to communicate—not about any specific job opportunity, but about AI governance and strategic adoption issues that are near and dear to my heart and frequent subjects of my writing.
The eventual email, supposedly from the LinkedIn member who had initially messaged me, came with her name but from an unfamiliar, noncorporate French Outlook address bearing a different name.
I emailed back asking about the discrepancy between the email address and the named individual. I’m curious about the response (automated, most likely), but such exchanges are unlikely to bear fruit. If the sender’s intent is simply to establish a connection with someone who has similar interests for professional development purposes, why the obfuscation about address and identity? And if the goal is something nefarious down the road, why not attempt a more sophisticated masking of identity?
The Question of Trust
The underlying issues here are identity and trust. When we communicate publicly, it’s completely normal and acceptable to be selective about the details we put forward. Any job application will emphasize what the hiring organization is looking for. We accept that, even if it means presenting a less-than-complete picture of our experience.
If a hiring organization uses an AI-powered video simulation of an interviewer in a screening interview, and makes clear that this is what it is doing, what’s the harm?
As I suggested above, the major issues here are trust and intent. If I’m writing an introductory cold-call email to a prospective cybersecurity assessment client, I’m going to include enough information to enable the recipient to judge both my sincerity and my intent.
This is what I find so puzzling about these LinkedIn-originated messages. Sure, the senders indicate that they have researched me through publicly available sources, but they don’t even attempt to establish trust. Instead, they obscure their identities and fail to communicate their real purpose.
AI Changes the Economics
AI tools make it easy to research potential marks like me, generate messages, and even “converse” with us. AI also allows such messages to be developed and distributed rapidly to huge numbers of people at very little cost. Even if people like me “opt out” early, the number who eventually participate might make the entire enterprise worthwhile.
The Nigerian Prince Learns to Network
Another interesting aspect is how these LinkedIn-originated messages relate to the old “Nigerian Prince” emails that held out a tantalizingly large payout if you bought into the scam. The difference is that these recent LinkedIn messages aren’t holding out potential monetary rewards or consulting prospects. Instead, they appear designed to establish an ongoing conversation about topics they know interest you professionally.
When social media first came on the scene, along with opportunities for professional networking and “relationship development,” that may have been enough. But nowadays people—at least people like me—aren’t as naive as we might once have been.
Copyright © 2026 by Dennis D. McDonald
