Zoomfished: The Con Who Tricked Zoom’s Identity Verification

It’s been over two years since Liquid Agency became a “work from away” company, and we’re really starting to see the results of it.

We’ve created award-winning work, but one team member took it a little too far. Some may call it creative. Others may say it’s the greatest scam of 2021.

We’ll let you decide…

In an unprecedented story out of Portland, Oregon, we came face to face* with an entirely new type of imposter. One employee, who shall remain nameless (hint: he’s a creative), did not attend ANY meetings for a period of 87 full working days.

*Note: Not his actual face

You might be asking yourself how he did this. Well, this person created an animatronic mannequin, with the face molded in his own likeness, and had this doppelgänger “sit in and nod” during Zoom meetings.

Now that you know how he did it, you may also be wondering how we caught on.

Clue No. 1: He once “fell over” during a Swarm and failed to get up. He chalked it up to a broken ankle that needed immediate medical attention.

Clue No. 2: He didn’t laugh at our CEO’s jokes. This one, in hindsight, is very suspicious. Scott Gardner is hilarious and knows how to land a joke with any crowd.

Clue No. 3: We witnessed his cat aggressively paw at his face for several minutes without him even flinching.

Clue No. 4: His “head” exploded. This wasn’t so much evidence as solid proof that we had a con on our team.

He has since been let go, and measures have been put in place to strictly verify the actual identity of all Zoom meeting participants.

Internally, the scam has been dubbed “The Bueller Debacle”—and our employees have some things to say about it.

“I had lunch with [redacted] all the time,” copywriter Jordan Aleck said. “I just thought he was a good listener.“

Bem Jimmerson, writer and creative director, said, “I wish I had thought of that.”

“I taught him how to create animatronics,” designer Emery Bradlina said. “He said he wanted to ‘school’ his neighbors. Turns out, he schooled us all.”

CEO Scott Gardner said, “He was our ‘Employee of the Month’ for the last three months. We’ve asked for the trophies back.”

If you’re curious how to implement identity verification on Zoom, please reach out to Stephen Chellis, our director of information systems. He was essential in adding an extra layer of facial recognition software to ensure no impostor could get by undetected again. Also, we hope you’re enjoying April 1.