This Privacy Policy states how Personal Data is processed at scamavoiding.com. It is issued in 2026 and is binding on the Publisher.
Definitions
The following terms carry the meanings set out here wherever they appear in this Policy.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| the Publisher | ScamAvoiding, the entity that operates and publishes scamavoiding.com and determines the purposes of processing described here. |
| the Service | The website published at scamavoiding.com, its articles, its listings, its contact form and all associated correspondence channels. |
| the User | Any natural person who accesses the Service or transmits a message to the Publisher. |
| Personal Data | Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. |
| Processing | Any operation performed on Personal Data, including collection, storage, consultation, transmission and erasure. |
| the Adviser | An independent legal adviser or law firm, unconnected to the Publisher, that assists members of the public with the preparation and filing of reports to regulators and authorities. |
| the Enquiry | A message transmitted by a User through the contact form of the Service or to contact@scamavoiding.com. |
| the Summary | A short written extract of an Enquiry, prepared by the Publisher and limited to the contact details of the User and a description of the events reported. |
| Log Data | Technical records generated automatically by the hosting infrastructure when a request is served. |
1. Application
This Policy applies to all Processing carried out by the Publisher in connection with the Service. It does not apply to any external site reached by a link from the Service. It does not apply to Processing carried out by an Adviser once an introduction has been made at the request of the User.
2. Controller
The Publisher is the controller of the Personal Data described in this Policy. The Publisher determines the purposes and the means of Processing. Contact details for the controller are given in the final section.
3. Categories of Data
The Publisher processes four categories. First, identification and contact data, being the name or alias and the email address supplied by the User. Second, Enquiry content, being the free text and any attachment transmitted with an Enquiry. Third, Log Data. Fourth, aggregate audience measurement data. No special category data is sought.
4. Source of Data
Identification data and Enquiry content are obtained directly from the User. Log Data is generated automatically on connection. Audience data is generated by the analytics provider. The Publisher does not purchase Personal Data and does not acquire it from data brokers or list vendors.
5. Purposes
Personal Data is processed to read and answer Enquiries, to inform published editorial research into fraudulent operators, to transmit a Summary to an Adviser where the User has requested an introduction, to protect the availability and integrity of scamavoiding.com, and to comply with legal obligations binding on the Publisher. No other purpose applies.
6. Legal Bases
Answering Enquiries and protecting the Service rest on the legitimate interests of the Publisher. Editorial use rests on legitimate interest in journalism, read with the exemption applicable to processing for journalistic purposes. Transmission of a Summary to an Adviser rests exclusively on the consent of the User. Legal compliance rests on legal obligation.
7. Contact Form
The contact form collects a name or alias, an email address and a free text field. All three are transmitted over an encrypted connection and stored in the correspondence system of the Publisher. Users are instructed not to transmit passwords, card numbers, banking credentials, wallet seed phrases or identity documents. Any such material identified in an Enquiry is deleted from the record.
8. Referral to Advisers
The Publisher does not transmit any part of an Enquiry to an Adviser unless the User has expressly requested an introduction. Where such a request is made, one Summary is transmitted to one Adviser so that the Adviser may assess whether the matter falls within its practice. The Adviser is an independent controller of what it receives and applies its own privacy notice. The Publisher does not receive any part of an Enquiry back from the Adviser. Consent may be withdrawn at any time by written notice to contact@scamavoiding.com, and withdrawal prevents any further transmission.
9. Analytics
The Service uses a general purpose analytics provider to count page views and measure aggregate traffic. The provider processes page addresses, session duration, device category, approximate region derived from network address and referral source. The Publisher does not use analytics for advertising profiling, does not construct behavioural segments and does not sell audience data to any party.
10. Cookies
The Service sets a small number of cookies. Strictly necessary cookies maintain session state and protect the form against automated abuse. Analytics cookies, where set, are subject to the consent of the User expressed through the banner presented on first access. Consent may be revised at any time using the same banner. Refusal of analytics cookies does not restrict access to any article on scamavoiding.com.
11. Storage Period
Enquiry correspondence is retained for twenty four months. Correspondence used as a source for a published article is retained while that article remains published and for twelve months after removal. A record that a Summary was transmitted is retained for thirty six months. Complaints, corrections and takedown correspondence are retained for six years. Raw Log Data is retained for ninety days. Aggregate analytics reports are retained for twenty six months. Records are deleted on expiry and backup copies are overwritten within a further sixty days.
12. Recipients
Personal Data is disclosed to the hosting provider, the email service provider and the analytics provider, each acting as a processor under written terms. It is disclosed to an Adviser only in the circumstances described in section 8. It is disclosed to a competent authority only under a lawful order. It is disclosed to no other party.
13. Transfers
Personal Data is stored on infrastructure situated in the European Economic Area or in a country covered by an adequacy decision. Where a processor operates outside those territories, transfer is governed by standard contractual clauses supplemented by a transfer risk assessment. A copy of the relevant safeguards may be requested from contact@scamavoiding.com.
14. Security
Traffic to the Service is encrypted in transit. Administrative access requires individual credentials and a second authentication factor. Access to Enquiry content is restricted to editorial personnel who require it. The Publisher applies rate limiting and monitoring to detect abuse. No transmission over a public network can be guaranteed secure and the User accepts that residual risk.
15. Rights of the User
The User may request access to Personal Data held, correction of inaccurate data, erasure, restriction of Processing, and portability of data supplied by the User and processed on consent. The User may object to Processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interest. Requests are addressed to contact@scamavoiding.com and answered within one month. That period may be extended by two months for a complex request, and the User is informed before the first month expires. Erasure may be refused where the data is needed for a legal claim, is subject to a statutory retention duty, or forms part of the editorial record protected by the journalistic exemption.
16. Automated Decisions
The Publisher takes no decision producing legal effects concerning the User by automated means. No profiling of the User is performed. Automated filtering is applied to inbound messages for the sole purpose of blocking unsolicited bulk mail.
17. Minors
The Service is directed at adults. The Publisher does not knowingly collect Personal Data from a person under sixteen years of age. Where the Publisher becomes aware that such data has been received, it is deleted without delay. A parent or guardian who believes that a minor has transmitted Personal Data should write to contact@scamavoiding.com.
18. Supervisory Authority
The User is entitled to lodge a complaint with the data protection supervisory authority of the country of residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement. That right may be exercised without first raising the matter with the Publisher. The Publisher will cooperate fully with any authority that opens an enquiry.
19. Amendments
This Policy may be amended. The operative version is the one published at scamavoiding.com in 2026 and it carries the date of its most recent review. A material amendment to the purposes of Processing is announced by a notice displayed on the Service for a reasonable period. Continued use of the Service after an amendment constitutes acknowledgement of the amended text.
20. Contact
All correspondence concerning this Policy, including requests under section 15, should be addressed to contact@scamavoiding.com. The subject line should state the nature of the request. The Publisher answers in writing. Where a request cannot be granted in full, the Publisher states the reason and identifies the route of appeal. ScamAvoiding keeps a record of every request received and of the response issued, for the period stated in section 11.