Privacy Policy

ScamWise Guide is an independent educational website providing scam-prevention information for adults. We are not affiliated with any government agency, financial institution, or law enforcement body.

For privacy enquiries, please contact us at [email protected].

We collect information in the following ways.

Information you provide directly through our forms: When you join the waitlist, submit a community story, or complete the Customer Details form for a pre-order, you may provide your full name, email address, country of residence, state or region (US residents), age range (optional), and phone number (optional). You may also provide a description of a scam experience if you choose to share one.

Information collected automatically: When you visit ScamWise Guide, our hosting infrastructure may automatically collect standard server log data, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, and pages visited. This information is used for security, performance monitoring, and diagnosing technical problems. It is not used to identify you personally.

Information we do not collect: We do not collect payment card numbers or financial account details (these are handled directly by our payment processor), government-issued identification numbers, full dates of birth, street addresses, or biometric data.

We use the information you provide for the following purposes: to process your pre-order and send your receipt, download link, and essential order updates; to contact you about your waitlist registration or story submission; to publish your community story if you have given permission and it has passed editorial review; to respond to enquiries; to improve the accessibility, examples, and usefulness of our educational resources; and to maintain the security and integrity of this website.

We do not use your information for advertising, marketing, or promotional purposes without your separate, explicit consent. We do not sell your personal information to any third party.

When you complete the Customer Details form ahead of purchasing the ScamWise Everyday Safety Kit, we collect your name, email address, country of residence, and (for US residents) state or region. You may also optionally provide your age range and phone number.

Your email address is used to send your receipt and download link after purchase. Your country and state information helps us identify relevant consumer-protection and scam-reporting resources for your region. Your age range, if provided, helps us improve the accessibility and usefulness of our educational materials. Your phone number, if provided, may be used to contact you about order problems if email is unavailable.

Payment processing: When payment is activated, card transactions will be processed by a third-party payment provider. We will not receive or store your full card number. The payment provider's own privacy policy will apply to the information you provide during payment. We will update this section with the name of the payment provider before activating checkout.

Digital delivery: Your download link will be sent to the email address you provide. Downloads are for personal, non-commercial use only. If you do not receive your download link within 24 hours of purchase, contact us at [email protected].

We retain personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes described in this policy or as required by applicable law.

Order information (name, email, country, state) is retained for as long as is necessary to fulfil the order and provide customer support, and for a reasonable period thereafter for legal and accounting purposes.

Story submissions that are not published are deleted within 90 days of receipt unless you have requested otherwise. Published stories are retained for as long as they remain on the website. You may request removal at any time.

Email correspondence is retained for up to 24 months and then deleted unless there is an ongoing matter that requires us to keep it longer. Server log data is retained for up to 90 days for security and diagnostic purposes.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share information in the following limited circumstances.

Service providers: We use third-party services to operate this website, process orders, and deliver digital products. These include our hosting provider, email delivery service, and (when payment is activated) our payment processor. These providers process data on our behalf and are required to keep it confidential. We will name the payment provider in this policy before activating checkout.

Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal request from a competent authority.

Protection of rights: We may disclose information where necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of ScamWise Guide, our users, or the public.

Published community stories are visible to all visitors of this website. Before a story is published, we will have obtained your permission and may have edited it to protect your privacy.

This website may use cookies and similar technologies to support basic functionality, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use the site. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some features of this website. We do not use cookies for advertising targeting.

If we introduce analytics or tracking tools in the future, we will update this policy and, where required by law, seek your consent before activating them.

ScamWise Guide contains links to external websites, including official government agencies such as the FTC, FBI IC3, and AARP. These links are provided for your convenience and reference.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any external site you visit, including the privacy policy of any payment processor used at checkout.

ScamWise Guide is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you believe a child has submitted personal information to us, please contact us at [email protected] and we will delete it promptly.

Depending on where you are located, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal information: access (request a copy of the information we hold about you); correction (ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information); deletion (ask us to delete your personal information — we will comply unless we are required to retain it by law); withdrawal of consent (where we rely on your consent to process information, you may withdraw it at any time); and objection (you may object to certain types of processing).

To exercise any of these rights, or to request the correction or removal of a published story, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within a reasonable time.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If you believe your information has been compromised, please contact us immediately at [email protected].

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law, including when we activate payment processing and name our payment provider. When we make material changes, we will update the Last updated date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Continued use of ScamWise Guide after a policy update constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the way we handle your personal information, please contact us at [email protected].