People are getting scammed for years on this platform, and now even more than before.
People (mostly newbies) simply put their trust in Paid Members on BHW, that's it. A pure fact. We can't get around it.
You can't blame BHW for some members actions, but you can wonder if things like this should be implemented.
I suggested to put a small question mark or some kind of alert mark somewhere near the usernames of Paid Members who are below 100 reaction score (likes) so newbies could click it and see additional information, link to thread about safety, and a general warning that new paid members might be dangerous.
Link to thread:
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/preventing-scam-by-increasing-the-level-of-alert.1650491/
BHW got threads about everything, but who is going to read them? You need to put such threads in that alert symbol.
Now could this ruin the BHW rep? I don't know, I really don't think so, but am not super smart to know.
Let's go ahead and consider this implemented.
PROS: Scammers would need to hustle more, expose themselves more, type some copy/paste good method to earn that 100 likes.
People would call them out for their BS most likely, it would be surely more interesting. They wouldn't leave the forum for sure.
CONS: Maybe speed of buying paid memberships reduces, so that could result in less sales, but I doubt it will be the case.
Because, even with some warning sign near their name, they can still proceed with scam without taking much care.
This would at least protect the members a little bit more, and eventually help.
It's better than all other things, because it's clearly visible right away.
Everyone need to understand that prevention requires something being visible always to the members.