I'm on LinkedIn but I very rarely use it.

Occasionally someone invites me to join their 'network'. Sometimes I'll get a message from a person I barely know saying they have endorsed me for a skill I didn't know I had.

I've never reciprocated, obviously.

A couple of weeks ago – in a moment of mild curiosity – I clicked on a button I thought would show all my current LinkedIn contacts.

It didn't. Horror of horrors it appears to have sent a message to all my email contacts inviting them to join my network, such as it is.

To put this in context, I've been on LinkedIn for years and until now I don't remember asking anyone to join my network.

Well, the response has been interesting but not in a good way.

I've no idea how many people the request was sent to (it must have been hundreds if not more) but only a handful accepted. (If you're one of them, thank you!)

Others were understandably quizzical:

I've received an email saying Simon wants to add me to LinkedIn but I haven't replied as someone in the past sent me one but it wasn't from them, it was some sort of virus/scam. Please would you let me know if it's genuine.

Another wrote:

I've had an email request to connect with you via LinkedIn. I do of course want to keep in touch but not through the medium of LinkedIn which I have studiously avoided having anything to do with. To respond to the email request necessitates joining LinkedIn! So, let's keep in touch in the normal way.

A third read:

Hi Simon, I'm guessing you pressed 'email all contacts' as I cannot for the life of me imagine you particularly value my 'friending' you (or whatever LinkedIn call it) in which case please ignore this email. However there is a chance, I suppose, that your Linkedln has been hacked and someone is playing shenanigans in which case you might like head over there and check.

I would love to say my account had been hacked. After all, it's the du jour excuse for every peccadillo these days.

Instead I fessed up:

You're absolutely right. I pressed 'email all contacts' by mistake. How embarrassing.

Anyway, if you're one of the hundreds of people who ignored my invitation, I don't blame you but it has been noted.

Update: It gets worse. My aunt, 79, has rung my mother. According to the latter my aunt was perplexed to receive an invitation from her nephew inviting her to join his "network".

Put like that it does sound a bit suspicious.

Worse, I may have to revise my estimate of the number of people LinkedIn has contacted. If my aunt got an email it could run into thousands.

Oops.