Why Do Users Get Banned from Cybercriminal Forums?

### Executive summary This article examines how and why operators on cybercriminal forums are banned, detailing six common causes—arbitration claims for scamming, breaking forum rules (e.g., targeting protected regions or impersonation), community-driven public pressure (including for child-exploitative material), suspicion of scraping or law-enforcement research, criticizing forum staff, and user requests for account deletion—and discusses the impacts bans have on reputation, forum trust, and platform survival.