Fraud & Criminal Activity

Media.com must not be used to defraud people, facilitate serious criminal activity or misuse the platform for unlawful purposes.

We prohibit accounts, content and conduct intended to deceive people for material gain, facilitate serious unlawful activity, compromise other users or misuse Media.com's systems.

A person's past criminal history does not by itself prevent them from participating on Media.com.

These Rules focus on how Media.com is being used and conduct reasonably connected to the safety and integrity of the platform.

Do not use Media.com to deceive another person or organization for financial, commercial or other material gain.

This may include:

• fraudulent offers;
• knowingly false payment requests;
• deceptive fundraising;
• fraudulent investment or commercial schemes;
• identity fraud;
• fake invoices;
• advance-fee schemes;
• deliberately deceptive sales activity; or
• other material misrepresentations designed to obtain money, property, services or sensitive information.

Do not use Media.com to create, promote or facilitate scams.

This includes attempts to induce users to:

• send money under false pretences;
• disclose passwords or security credentials;
• provide financial information through deception;
• transfer digital assets or other property fraudulently; or
• engage with deceptive off-platform services.

Do not use Media.com to plan, coordinate, solicit, facilitate or materially assist serious unlawful activity.

The mere discussion, reporting or documentation of criminal activity is not prohibited.

Context matters.

Do not use Media.com to facilitate malicious cyber activity against other people, organizations or systems.

This may include:

• phishing;
• credential theft;
• malicious software distribution;
• unauthorised access;
• account compromise;
• deliberate security circumvention;
• coordinated cyber attacks; or
• instructions or services offered for the purpose of committing serious malicious cyber activity.

Legitimate cybersecurity research, education and responsible security discussion are not automatically prohibited.

Do not use another person's or organization's identity to commit fraud or facilitate criminal activity.

Conduct involving false identity, forged documents or fraudulent verification may also violate Media.com's Verification and Impersonation & Identity Abuse Rules.

Do not use Media.com to offer, solicit or coordinate services where the purpose is to facilitate serious criminal activity.

Discussion of criminal activity for journalism, education, research, legal analysis or public-interest purposes is not prohibited merely because it describes how criminal conduct occurs.

Terrorist organizations, violent extremist organizations, organised violent groups, recruitment and material support for serious violence are governed principally by Media.com's Dangerous Individuals & Organizations Rules.

Those matters should not be treated as a separate category of "High Risk Users" under these Rules.

A person's previous criminal conviction or alleged wrongdoing does not, by itself, mean they are prohibited from using Media.com.

Media.com may consider conduct outside Media.com where there is a reasonable connection between that conduct and:

• current fraud;
• platform abuse;
• user safety;
• account authenticity;
• serious criminal activity involving Media.com; or
• another applicable Media.com Rule.

Users may discuss, investigate, report on or document fraud and criminal activity.

Legitimate uses may include:

• journalism;
• investigative reporting;
• academic research;
• cybersecurity education;
• crime prevention;
• legal analysis;
• documentary material;
• victim advocacy; and
• public-interest reporting.

Content does not violate these Rules merely because it contains information about unlawful activity.

The relevant question is whether the content is being used to facilitate or promote prohibited conduct.

Users can report accounts, content or conduct they believe involves fraud or serious criminal activity through Media.com's Report function.

A report or allegation does not itself establish that fraud or criminal activity occurred.

Where Media.com determines that these Rules have been violated, action may include:

• removing content;
• restricting links or other functionality;
• restricting platform features;
• restricting monetization or payment functionality;
• issuing an account warning;
• requiring additional verification;
• temporarily suspending an account; or
• permanently removing an account.

Media.com is not required to apply these measures sequentially.

Serious fraud, malicious cyber activity or use of Media.com to facilitate serious crime may result in immediate account-level action.

Where Media.com reasonably believes conduct involves serious unlawful activity, we may preserve or disclose relevant information or refer the matter to appropriate authorities where required or permitted by applicable law and reasonably appropriate.

A report or policy violation does not automatically result in referral to law enforcement.

Eligibility to use payment, monetization or other financial features may be subject to:

• applicable law;
• sanctions requirements;
• payment-provider requirements; and
• Media.com's Commercial Integrity or payments policies.

A restriction on payment functionality does not necessarily mean that an account has violated these Rules.

Users may appeal eligible enforcement decisions where they believe Media.com incorrectly applied these Rules.

For more information, see Appealing a Media.com Decision.

These Rules should be read together with:

• Content & Conduct Standards;
• Verification;
• Impersonation & Identity Abuse;
• Dangerous Individuals & Organizations;
• Platform Integrity;
• Commercial Integrity;
• Payments & Restricted Activity; and
• other applicable Media.com Rules and Policies.