A Singaporean citizen working for Chinese spies was apparently using LinkedIn to help him recruit informants in the US.
On Friday, the US Justice Department announced that a Singaporean national named Jun Wei Yeo entered a guilty plea for acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government since 2015.
Yeo, whose English name is Dickson, admitted to using various social media sites to help him identify Americans—including US military and government officials—who had access to confidential information. The goal was to hire the Americans to write reports on sensitive matters, which were then secretly sent back to the Chinese government.
According to court documents, Yeo created a fake consultancy company focused on government policy and cross-border relations. He then posted job openings to his company online and ended up receiving 400 resumes, 90 percent of which belonged to US government military personnel with security clearances.
“Yeo also used a professional networking website that is focused on career and employment information,” the court documents say, without naming the provider. However, a LinkedIn account for Yeo remains up on the site, which matches what is described.
The court documents indicate the service was a pretty effective tool in helping him find potential sources for intelligence. “After Yeo contacted potential targets online, the professional networking website began to suggest additional potential contacts. According to Yeo, the website’s algorithm was relentless,” the documents say. “Yeo checked the professional networking website almost every day to review the new batch of potential contacts suggested to him by the site’s algorithm. Later, Yeo told US law enforcement that it felt almost like an addiction.”
(Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
Allegedly, Chinese government agents then advised Yeo on how to entice American sources to write reports for his fake consultancy. The tactics included asking whether they were happy with their current jobs or suffering from financial troubles.
The court documents outline one case in which the “professional social networking site” helped Yeo reach a US civilian, who was working with the US Air Force on the F-35B stealth fighter. The source was then recruited to write a report on the geopolitical implications of Japan purchasing the F-35 aircraft.
In another instance, Yeo used an unnamed “social networking” app to reach a US Army officer, who was recruited to write a report on how the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan would affect China. In exchange, the officer received $2,000 or more. Chinese agents then allegedly instructed Yeo to recruit the US Army officer as a “permanent conduit of information.”
However, the documents indicate US federal investigators arrested Yeo in November 2019 at an airport. During that same time Yeo made a post on Facebook that said “Stressful Day.”
US officials have previously warned that China has been exploiting LinkedIn as a recruitment tool to find informants. In 2018, William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, described the professional social networking site as the ultimate playground for China to reach all kinds of sources, including academics, scientists, and engineers.
“The FBI urges citizens, especially those holding security clearances, to be cautious when being approached by individuals on social media sites with implausible career opportunities,” said FBI official Timothy Slater in today’s announcement.
LinkedIn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
