Scenario 13: Reporting a User for Invalid Professional Credentials

Requirement Scenario: Reporting a User for Invalid Professional Credentials

Actor

Registered User: Dr. Kemal (A verified dietitian concerned about platform credibility)

User Persona

• Name: Dr. Kemal
• Situation: Dr. Kemal is a verified dietitian who actively contributes professional nutrition advice on the platform. While browsing the forum, he encounters another user claiming to be a "Certified Nutritionist" giving questionable dietary advice. Upon investigating the user's profile, Dr. Kemal notices the uploaded certificate appears to be fake or significantly altered.
• Goal: Dr. Kemal wants to report this user for having an invalid certificate to protect community members from potentially harmful misinformation and maintain the integrity of professional tags on the platform.

Preconditions

1. Dr. Kemal is logged into the Affordable & Healthy Eating Hub platform. (Requirement 1.7.2)
2. Dr. Kemal has a verified "Dietitian" profession tag on his profile. (Requirement 1.2.9, 1.8.5)
3. Another user (Ahmet) has uploaded a suspicious certificate and is using an "Unverified" or verified profession tag.
4. The user reporting system for profiles is functional. (Requirement 1.2.11)
5. Community Moderators are available to review user reports. (Requirement 1.8.5, 1.8.6)

Main Flow

1. Dr. Kemal browses the forum looking for nutrition discussions. (Requirement 1.4.4)
2. Dr. Kemal encounters a post with questionable dietary advice recommending an extreme fasting protocol that could be dangerous.
3. Dr. Kemal clicks on the post author's username to view their profile. (Requirement 1.2.6)
4. Dr. Kemal views the user's profile (username: "NutritionistAhmet") showing:
   • Profession tag: "Certified Nutritionist" with "Unverified" badge
   • Uploaded certificate claiming certification from "International Nutrition Academy"
   • Multiple posts giving medical-style nutrition advice (Requirement 1.2.6.a)
5. Dr. Kemal examines the uploaded certificate closely and identifies several red flags:
   • Poor image quality suggesting manipulation
   • Organization name not recognized by professional bodies
   • Certificate template appears generic and potentially fabricated
   • Signature looks digitally added
6. Dr. Kemal decides to report this user to protect the community from potentially harmful advice.
7. Dr. Kemal clicks the "Report User" button on Ahmet's profile. (Requirement 1.2.11)
8. The system displays a report form with predefined report options for users.
9. Dr. Kemal selects the report reason: "Invalid certificate" from the available options:
   • a) Invalid certificate - The certificate uploaded in the reported user's profile is not authenticated or does not match the profession claimed
   • b) Misleading information - The inventory, contact information, location, or the name of the store is incorrect, or a user profile contains false information (Requirement 1.2.11)
10. Dr. Kemal provides a detailed description: "As a verified dietitian, I have examined this user's certificate and have serious concerns about its authenticity. The certificate appears to be from an unrecognized organization and shows signs of digital manipulation. The user is giving potentially dangerous fasting advice while claiming professional credentials. This poses a risk to community members who may trust this advice."
11. Dr. Kemal submits the user report.
12. The system acknowledges the report and confirms it will be reviewed by moderators.
13. Dr. Kemal navigates to his profile to check if he can track user reports similar to post reports.
14. A Community Moderator accesses the moderation dashboard to review pending reports. (Requirement 1.8.6)
15. The moderator views Dr. Kemal's user report in the dashboard showing:

• Reported User: NutritionistAhmet
• Report Reason: Invalid certificate
• Reporting User: Dr. Kemal (verified dietitian)
• Timestamp: [Date/Time]
• Description: [Full details provided by Dr. Kemal] (Requirement 1.8.7)

16. The moderator navigates to Ahmet's profile to review the profession tag and uploaded certificate. (Requirement 1.8.5)
17. The moderator examines the certificate and cross-references it with:

• Known legitimate certification bodies
• Certificate verification databases
• Professional registry organizations

18. The moderator confirms the certificate appears fraudulent, finding:

• "International Nutrition Academy" is not a recognized accreditation body
• Certificate template matches known fake certificate templates online
• No verifiable credentials for this user in professional registries

19. The moderator decides to take action to protect the community. (Requirement 1.8.5)
20. The moderator removes the profession tag from Ahmet's profile, stripping the "Certified Nutritionist" designation. (Requirement 1.8.5)
21. The moderator issues a warning to Ahmet for attempting to use fraudulent credentials. (Requirement 1.8.8.b)
22. The warning states: "Your profession tag has been removed due to invalid certification. The certificate you uploaded does not appear to be from a recognized accreditation body and shows signs of manipulation. Attempting to misrepresent professional credentials violates our community guidelines. Further violations may result in account suspension."
23. The system records the warning in Ahmet's account, visible to him. (Requirement 1.2.12)
24. The moderator reviews Ahmet's previous posts with potentially harmful nutrition advice.
25. The moderator removes several posts containing dangerous fasting recommendations. (Requirement 1.8.8.a)
26. The system logs all moderation actions including:

• Report details from Dr. Kemal
• Moderator investigation findings
• Profession tag removal
• Warning issued
• Posts removed
• Timestamps for all actions (Requirement 1.8.9, 2.4.12)

27. Dr. Kemal receives a notification that his report has been reviewed and action has been taken.
28. Dr. Kemal views the community forum and notices Ahmet's problematic posts have been removed.
29. Dr. Kemal views Ahmet's profile and sees the profession tag is no longer displayed. (Requirement 1.2.6)
30. The moderator maintains the moderation history for future reference in case Ahmet attempts to upload another fraudulent certificate. (Requirement 1.8.9)
31. Ahmet logs into his account and sees the warning and explanation. (Requirement 1.2.12)
32. The entire process from report to resolution was completed within 48 hours. (Requirement 2.1.4)

Outcome

• Dr. Kemal successfully reported a user with invalid professional credentials, protecting the community from misinformation. (Requirement 1.2.11)
• The report included detailed reasoning and evidence, helping moderators make an informed decision.
• A Community Moderator reviewed the user report with access to the reported user's profile, profession tag, and uploaded certificate. (Requirement 1.8.6, 1.8.7)
• The moderator verified the certificate was fraudulent through cross-referencing with legitimate certification bodies. (Requirement 1.8.5)
• The moderator removed the invalid profession tag, stripping the fraudulent professional designation from the user's profile. (Requirement 1.8.5)
• The moderator issued a warning to the violating user with clear explanation of the violation. (Requirement 1.8.8.b)
• The user can view the warning in their account with full details about why the profession tag was removed. (Requirement 1.2.12)
• The moderator removed dangerous posts containing potentially harmful nutrition advice from someone claiming false credentials. (Requirement 1.8.8.a)
• The system maintained comprehensive logs of the entire investigation and moderation actions. (Requirement 1.8.9, 2.4.12)
• The resolution was completed within 48 hours, meeting the platform's moderation SLA. (Requirement 2.1.4)
• The platform's professional credential verification system worked effectively to identify and remove fraudulent claims.
• Community members are protected from potentially harmful advice given by users with fake credentials.
• The integrity of profession tags is maintained, ensuring users can trust verified professionals on the platform.
• Verified professionals like Dr. Kemal can actively contribute to platform safety by reporting suspicious credentials in their field of expertise.
• The moderation process respected due process by providing clear explanation to the reported user about the violation.
• Future attempts by the same user to upload fraudulent certificates can be cross-referenced with the moderation history.

Mockups

[Mockup 1: Forum Post with Questionable Nutrition Advice]
[Mockup 2: User Profile Showing Profession Tag and Uploaded Certificate]
[Mockup 3: Certificate Image with Visible Red Flags]
[Mockup 4: "Report User" Button and Form with Reason Selection]
[Mockup 5: User Report Form with Detailed Description Field]
[Mockup 6: Moderator Dashboard - User Reports Queue]
[Mockup 7: Moderator View of Reported User's Profile and Certificate]
[Mockup 8: Moderation Action Interface - Remove Profession Tag]
[Mockup 9: Warning Notification in Reported User's Account]
[Mockup 10: User Profile After Profession Tag Removal]
[Mockup 11: Moderation History Log with All Actions]