Chinese spies have reportedly targeted Australian businesspeople, politicians and police officers on LinkedIn, posing as think tank employees and consultants in an effort to obtain information.
An ABC investigation has examined messages and records from several LinkedIn accounts allegedly used by Chinese spies to approach Australian targets.
Earlier this year, businessman Alexander Csergo was sentenced to more than three years in prison for reckless foreign interference after being recruited through LinkedIn by someone claiming to represent a consulting firm seeking experts to advise on trade between China and Australia.
As part of its investigation, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) obtained records from LinkedIn accounts allegedly used by the spies. The ABC has now revealed that the same accounts attempted to approach dozens of Australians.
Australian connections
Those connected to the alleged spy accounts included former Queensland premier and current Opposition Leader Steven Miles, an AFP commander and several senior federal government officials, according to the ABC report.
Miles was connected to one of the accounts but did not exchange messages with it.
The accounts typically claimed to represent think tanks or consultancies and offered individuals paid consulting work in exchange for what they described as “valuable advice”.
According to the report, the accounts operated between 2016 and 2025 and contacted nearly 60 LinkedIn connections.
Some recipients shared their personal contact details with the accounts.
Those approached included employees of Austrade, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Investment NSW, Invest Victoria and Tourism Australia, the ABC reported.
In response to a message from one of the accounts, an Austrade employee said he could not accept payment because he worked for the government, but offered to introduce the sender to people in his professional network.
The ABC also reported that some Australians contacted by the accounts shared their personal contact details or discussed continuing conversations outside LinkedIn, including through WeChat, phone calls and in-person meetings.
A spokesperson for LinkedIn said the organisation is focused on combatting state-sponsored activity on the platform.
“Creating a fake account or misrepresenting your identity is a clear violation of our terms of service,” the spokesperson told Information Age.
“We remain focused on detecting state-sponsored abuse and will continue to enforce our policies against fake accounts.”
Retired police officers targeted
The ABC also reported that the alleged Chinese spies posed as recruiters seeking retired Australian police officers through LinkedIn.
Using a fictitious security firm called Data 31, the profiles connected with and messaged three retired police officers in an apparent attempt to obtain information.
“We are looking for security expert consultant employment from Australia and Canada (part-time),” one message read.
At least seven Australians were contacted by profiles claiming to represent the fake Data 31 firm.
All the LinkedIn accounts have since been deregistered following the AFP investigation.
The latest revelations stem from the case of Csergo, who was living in Shanghai in late 2021 when he was approached through LinkedIn with an offer of part-time work.
The account claimed to represent Nesa Consulting, an organisation seeking experts to advise on trade between China and Australia.
According to the prosecution, Csergo subsequently met with two people and prepared reports for them in exchange for cash.
He was convicted earlier this year of reckless foreign interference, an offence introduced by the federal government in 2018.
Prosecutors argued that his conduct involved secrecy or deception, and that he had been reckless as to whether he had supported the intelligence activities of a foreign principal.
LinkedIn scams on the rise
Australians have also been warned to exercise caution when using LinkedIn, with scammers increasingly exploiting the platform to target jobseekers.
In just two months earlier this year, Australians lost more than $250,000 to job scams, with cost-of-living pressures potentially making people more receptive to risky or suspicious offers.
Common scams include fake job advertisements, cloned profiles impersonating legitimate recruiters, and offers of CV-writing services at inflated prices.
