You may be able to set up a fake LinkedIn identity, but you really can't fake the "connections". If someone has 44 or 239 links- it's very very very doubtful that person is not who they say they are... A listing with 1 connection has little to no value and may be a fake. A posting with a handful of links may still be bogus, but if you look at the quality of the connections you'll intuitively know if you're looking at the real deal. LinkedIn isn't perfect, but I've not read any derogatory stories since it started about it being a site full of bogus users.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
