DANNY DE HEK

Let me tell you what it’s like trying to hold criminals accountable in 2025.

Yesterday, I submitted a detailed complaint to Zoom about how their platform is being exploited—daily—by scammers running multi-level marketing frauds, Ponzi schemes, and high-yield investment programs targeting vulnerable people.

Not only did I include clear evidence, but I referenced Zoom’s own terms of service, specifically Section 8, which prohibits using the platform for multilevel marketing or deceptive financial activity.

How did Zoom respond?

With a condescending form letter that reads like it was crafted by a PR intern trained in gaslighting. The message, from a representative named “Alexis,” wasn’t just dismissive—it was a masterclass in corporate buck-passing and institutional indifference.

They began by thanking me for raising concerns, then promptly explained why they wouldn’t publish my post on their community forum: apparently, exposing scams is a violation of their “mutual support” culture.

Yes, you read that right. Exposing criminal behavior = bad. Facilitating the scams themselves? Totally fine—just don’t make it public.

Zoom claims they don’t monitor meetings proactively (understandable), but they also admit they won’t investigate unless provided “specific, verifiable information.” That might sound reasonable—until you realise they’ve been provided exactly that hundreds of times, including:

  • Over 120 meeting links promoting known Ponzi schemes
  • Recordings of live Zoom sessions where leaders recruit victims under false pretenses
  • Evidence of schemes like We Are All Satoshi, Pluto BNB, and HyperVerse—all using Zoom to lure in investors with get-rich-quick pitches

What’s Zoom done with this information?
Nothing.

In fact, I’m the one who got banned—not the criminals. My account was shut down after I livestreamed a Zoom meeting and exposed a scammer’s name and payslip (public info that was voluntarily shared in the meeting). Apparently, protecting a scammer’s feelings is more important to Zoom than protecting innocent people from financial ruin.

Here’s the real kicker:

“We enforce our standards consistently to protect the safety and privacy of everyone on the platform.”

Unless, of course, you’re a scammer. Then you can recruit, deceive, and defraud people freely—as long as you don’t accidentally expose a spreadsheet or mention your JobSeeker income on camera.

Let’s be honest: Zoom has become the go-to platform for Ponzi schemes.

They offer:

  • A virtual stage
  • Zero oversight
  • And a convenient excuse: “We didn’t know what was happening!”

It’s the same playbook used by Facebook, Telegram, and now even YouTube, where AI strikes target truth-tellers faster than criminals.

What makes this worse is that Zoom is fully aware of the problem. I’ve spent months submitting links, evidence, and videos. I’ve even livestreamed the crimes in progress. And every time, their Trust & Safety team shrugs and mumbles something about “preponderance of evidence”—while giving me the boot.

They say they “understand” my frustration.
No, Zoom—you enable it.

If you’re reading this, ask yourself:

  • Why is Zoom more concerned about silencing whistleblowers than stopping financial abuse?
  • Why do their terms of service prohibit MLMs and Ponzi schemes—yet those meetings run every single day?
  • And what would happen if more creators, journalists, and victims called this out publicly?

I’ll keep naming names and showing up in these meetings until Zoom either bans all scammers—or finally admits they’re just another platform profiting from silence.

Want to help?

  • Share this post.
  • Report Ponzi meetings you come across.
  • And if you’re Zoom leadership reading this: do your job.

For transparency, my name is Danny de Hek, aka The Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger. I investigate crypto scams and expose MLM frauds. My work has been featured in Bloomberg’s 2025 exposé on Dubai’s crypto underworld. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/QQzxiKfyddg

Zoom banned me.
But I’m still watching.

FOR TRANSPARENCY ZOOM’S EMAIL

You have received a private message in the Zoom Community!

You have received a private message in the Zoom Community community.

Subject: RE: Why Was I Banned for Exposing Criminals While Zoom Hosts the Scams? From: Alexis Brown Date: 2025-04-18 10:18 AM

Hi DANNNY-DE-HEK,

Thank you for sharing your concerns within your community post, “Why Was I Banned for Exposing Criminals While Zoom Hosts the Scams?”. We understand this is a frustrating situation, and we want to provide some clarity around both our enforcement process and why your post will not be published on the community forum.

We reviewed your submission carefully, but due to the nature of the of the post-specifically, accusations against other users, we’ve decided to not allow the post. Our community spaces are meant to foster constructive discussion and mutual support, but public accusations, especially those involving sensitive or unverifiable claims, can lead to harm.

To your broader point: we want to acknowledge your original intent may have been to expose potential harmful or fraudulent activity. That said, sharing someone’s private information, even in the context of exposing wrongdoing, is a violation of our Acceptable Use Guidelines. We have a responsibility to enforce those standards consistently to ensure and protect the safety and privacy of everyone on the platform. That’s why accounts involved in sharing private or personally identifiable information are subject to action, regardless of motive.

We also want to address your concern about certain meetings being allowed to continue. We do not proactively monitor user meetings for content and rely entirely on user reports to investigate potential abuse. While reporting tools are available, and we encourage to use them, these types of schemes are often deliberately opaque or hidden. That makes them difficult to verify, and our ability to act is limited by the evidence we receive. We operate on a preponderance of evidence standard, which means that unless a report includes specific, verifiable information, we may not have enough to act as quickly or decisively as we’d like.

We know how frustrating that can be – especially when you feel like you’re trying to do the right thing. We’re constantly working to make our platform safer for everyone and we encourage reporting concerning activity via our Trust Form.

Thank you for your understanding,

Alexis

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