Beware: Malicious Profiles on YC Co-Founder Matching

Today I received a match through YC’s Co-Founder Matching Platform. The user claimed to be an experienced British technologist named “Dave J.”

Immediately after matching, they sent me a WhatsApp link and asked to connect there. They then said they were “having a procedure” and were unable to voice or video call.

A reverse image search of their YC profile photo led to the website and GitHub of someone named “David W.” When I asked the person I was speaking with for their GitHub, however, they provided a completely different account filled with infosec-related projects.

There were several other red flags:

• Their command of English was poor despite claiming to be British. • They claimed not to have LinkedIn, while the real David W., whose photo appeared to have been used, has an active LinkedIn profile. • They were unwilling or unable to verify their identity by voice or video.

I didn’t have the time or interest to let the interaction play out beyond a few minutes, but please be careful on the Co-Founder Matching platform. There appear to be people using fabricated identities and potentially stolen photos to initiate conversations and quickly move them off-platform.

This also isn’t the first suspicious interaction I’ve encountered there. On a previous occasion, someone wanted me to apply for jobs on their behalf using my identity or post to HN for them.

I’ve reported this one to YC.