Although not everything on ResearchGate has been desirable, some has, and one very nice feature has been the absence of scammers. Cranks, clueless folk, and students trying to get their homework done for them yes, but out-and-out scams, no.
I think that has changed, and I'd like to (a) check to see what others are noticing and (b) issue a warning/alert.
What I've started to receive are apparent inquiries about my research that don't ring true. The first ones were so generic they were obvious. The most recent one actually cited a specific paper and asked a more-or-less decent question (given that it allegedly came from a student in a loosely related field). I did reply to that one, and the person almost immediately started suggesting that we chat on other platforms and that I might benefit in some way.
The profiles in question tend to be new and very bare-bones. They could, of course, be just students joining the community. But there is something deeply suspicious here. Be careful, folks! Nobody's using your ResearchGate page to offer you riches or love!
I got similar message recently. And yes, she ask for my WhatsApp number
It is a good idea to report these suspicious accounts. The one that prompted my post is still up despite my report, but I hadn't let things go far enough to be really damning, and I don't think Research Gate has a big staff devoted to such matters. So, the more people who report, the better.
I imagine we are being approached by an AI bot trying to get more information than is publicly available 
Some will be bots. More are human scammers. Aside from the usual suspects, a number of (mostly) men are being held in what is essentially slavery in western Thailand, lured in by Chinese gangs. Their job is to find a way into your heart and mainly your bank account. Their conditions are wretched, and we should be sad for them, but also wary.
Here is a gift link to a New York Times article on the subject. Other news outlets have also done pieces. (You may need to copy and paste into your browser.)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/myanmar-cyber-scam.html?rsrc=flt&unlocked_article_code=1.Q04.Gajb.hkSedzXbSCOb&smid=url-share
Watch out. Someone reached out to me to pretend he is interested in one of my publication, and then asked for me whatsapp number. After that, that guy's account and information on ResearchGate totally disappeared
Ditto. I reported the account and asked RG to try and do something to stop this influx of scammers.
Same here. Happened twice this week. Both times with the last name Qiu. Ella Qiu and Violet Qiu. Made up credentials in China. Complimented me on recent publications and pressed hard for my WhatsApp contact info. Had a very AI bot feel to the language. Deleted them and searched to see if this has happened to others....and I found all of you with the same story. Stay vigilant everyone!
Same here. Don't give away for phone #. RG has to stop this.
Check discussion at: https://www.researchgate.net/post/New_type_of_scam_New_approach_using_fake_accounts/1
I have got similar requests once of twice, I found that profiles are almost empty and stopped correspondence. But I had several true requests from students or young scientists, so not every request is a scam...
@ Wojciech Adamowski
Exactly. It's important to the spirit of this site that we respond, when we can, to messages/requests from genuine students and early-career professionals who are trying to find their way.
Stephen Joy when I joined RG, I thinked "What a nice idea!" With time I found also darker spots of the site, but it is still useful for information exchange. We need to be careful and do not give particular informations to everyone asking, but sometimes we also need to trust our correspondents.
I have been enjoying scammers’ activities until they themselves disappear with a big disappointment. Don’t get afraid of them too much.
Today I received this message:
"I have read your paper and I am particularly interested in it. I hope you can add my WhatsApp to communicate and study together. My WhatsApp is: ...."
It is the second message from different users in the last few days... surely scammers
Same here. I actually enjoyed it. When I asked what specific question s/he had, s/he responded with a clearly AI-generated message, which included a statement that s/he developed a method to use "quantum fire extinguishers" for oceanographic problems, which must be machine generated in reference to my co-authored paper exploring the use of quantum computers. (For the curious, search Google for quantum fire extinguishers. I hope you'll laugh.)
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