ScamBeacon Privacy Policy
Effective Date: 7/12/2026
This Privacy Policy explains how ScamBeacon (“ScamBeacon,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and protects information when you use our website, community forum, scam map, and mobile app (collectively, the “Services”). By using the Services, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
- Information You Provide to Us
Account Registration. If you create an account to participate in our community forum or other member features, we collect your username, email address, and password. Passwords are stored in encrypted form and are never visible to our staff.
Age Verification. Registration requires you to confirm that you are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect registration information from anyone under 18.
Scam Reports. When you submit a scam report through our report form, we collect the information you provide, which may include your name, email address, a description of the scam, the type of scam, and a location. You may submit reports anonymously by leaving optional fields blank.
Scam reports are reviewed by our moderators before being published. Once approved, reports appear publicly as forum discussions and/or as pins on our community scam map, which anyone visiting the site can view. Do not include information in a report that you do not want to be made public — if you provide your name, it will not be displayed publicly on an approved report; if you’d like to remain fully anonymous, simply leave the name field blank. Reports should describe the tactics used (e.g., a phone number, email, or method of contact) rather than making unverified accusations against a specific named individual or business. ScamBeacon reviews reports for moderation purposes but does not independently verify the accuracy of claims made by submitters.
- Call Screening Feature
If you use the call screening feature in the ScamBeacon app, we analyze the phone number and associated call metadata (such as caller ID information and call frequency or pattern data) to help assess whether an incoming call may be a scam. We do not record calls, and we do not store call audio or the content of your conversations.
- Automatically Collected Technical Data
When you visit our website or use our app, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including your IP address, browser type, device information, and standard web server logs. We use this information for purposes such as maintaining basic security (for example, rate-limiting repeated form submissions to prevent abuse) and understanding overall usage of the Services.
If enabled, we may also use Jetpack Stats or similar analytics tools to understand aggregate visitor traffic to our website. This data is generally used in aggregate form and is not used to individually identify you.
- How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Operate, maintain, and improve the Services;
- Review, moderate, and publish scam reports submitted to the community;
- Refine and improve scam detection accuracy, including in the call screening feature;
- Support community safety by helping users identify and avoid reported scams;
- Communicate with you about your account or submissions, if needed;
- Maintain the security and integrity of our Services, including preventing spam and abuse.
- How We Share Information
We do not sell your personal information.
Public reports. Approved scam reports are published publicly on our forum and community map by design — this is the core purpose of the Services. Please review Section 1 above before submitting information you do not want made public.
Service providers. We may share information with third parties who help us operate the Services (for example, our hosting provider), solely for the purpose of providing those services to us, and under obligations to protect your information.
Legal disclosure. We may disclose information if required to do so by law, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect the rights or safety of ScamBeacon or others, or investigate potential violations of our Terms of Service.
- Data Retention
We retain account information for as long as your account remains active. Published scam reports are generally retained indefinitely as part of the public community record, unless removed at our discretion or upon a valid deletion request (see Section 7). We may retain technical/log data for a limited period for security and operational purposes.
- Your Rights and Choices
Depending on your location, you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information. To make such a request, contact us using the information in Section 10 below. Please note that if you request deletion of a scam report, we may retain a record of the underlying report for community safety and moderation purposes even if identifying details are removed.
- Children’s Privacy
Our Services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from someone under 18, we will take steps to delete it.
- Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the “Effective Date” above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Services after any changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
- Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise any of the rights described above, please contact us