October 14, 2004     

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IFCC Web Site Privacy Policy

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) co-sponsor the IFCC.  The NW3C is a private, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization, which provides analytical support for white collar crime cases for state and local agencies.

The IFCC uses the data collected at this Web site to process complaint information and to collect and store certain information.  When you visit our site, we may automatically collect and store the following information whether or not you file a complaint:

• Your domain name (for example, “xyz123abc-company.com” if you use a private Internet account, or “yourschool.edu” if you are connecting from a university’s domain) and the IP address (a number automatically assigned to your computer when you go online) from which you access our Web site.
• The type of browser and operating system you use to access our site.
• The date and time you access our site.
• The Internet address of the Web site from which you accessed our site.
• The pages you visit on our site.

We use this information to measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, and to help us make our site more useful to future visitors.  We do not sell or transfer to third parties any of this information that we automatically collect from every visitor unless it relates to a site security matter as discussed below.

Information Collected from E-mails and Web forms

The IFCC uses the data voluntarily submitted by complainants at this Web site to help victims of Internet-related fraud.  Your complaint, should you choose to submit one, is maintained and controlled by the NW3C.  Thereafter, the IFCC may pursue preliminary inquiries, and information from the complaint along with other information developed may be referred to a federal, state or local law enforcement or regulatory agency, as appropriate, including the FBI. Whether your complaint is referred to another agency or not, the data you voluntarily submit on the complaint form will be maintained by the NW3C at the IFCC and be available for future retrieval and possible referral to one or more enforcement agencies.

Information solicited by IFCC on the complaint form assists personnel in processing complaints.  Disclosure of such information is strictly voluntary, however, failure to provide certain information solicited will result in the complaint not being properly registered, and no action will be taken on incomplete complaints.  However, data submitted from incomplete complaints may still be stored and maintained for potential retrieval and dissemination.  Any complaint information you affirmatively choose to provide to the IFCC may be referred to one or more appropriate enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction over your complaint.  This may include agencies at all levels of government, including local, state and federal agencies, and may include agencies having administrative, civil and/or criminal law enforcement authority.  Such referrals are the principal purposes for which the information voluntarily submitted is intended to be used.  The confidentiality of the complaint information you provide may be affected by differing state law.  As such, we cannot guarantee that your complaint will remain confidential.  People who voluntarily choose to file a complaint do so knowing that all information provided may be disseminated to one or more enforcement agencies, which may or may not take action on the complaint.  The IFCC does not decide which complaints will be actively investigated by any agency and the IFCC cannot make any representations or guarantees as to the action that may or may not be taken on any complaint.

You may volunteer to provide us personally identifying information, for example your mailing address, in an electronic mail message or by filing a complaint.  Before you do so, you should know that various people might see the material you submit.  We may enter the information into a database and we may share it with other agencies.  Information collected may be used for responding to complaints as well as other authorized purposes.

Click on “Information Requested” in our site heading to learn more about the complaint process in which complainants voluntarily provide certain personally identifying information about themselves.  Such information is often referred to one or more law enforcement and/or regulatory agencies.

Sample complaint form

Our site does NOT contain a sample complaint form.  However, our site has a section where users may see what information is solicited from those users who voluntarily choose to file complaints – “Information Requested.”  Some of the information desired is actually required in order for IFCC to take further action on a complaint.   Failure to provide such required information will result in your complaint not being properly registered.  However, the information you provide on the complaint form, even in incomplete form, may be stored, retained and referred to other agencies, by the IFCC.

Security and Consent to Monitor

For site security purposes, and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, all network traffic is monitored in order to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage or conduct criminal activity.  To protect the system from unauthorized use and to ensure that the system is functioning properly, individuals using this computer system are subject to having all of their activities monitored and recorded by authorized personnel and such monitoring and recording will be conducted.  Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring and is advised that if such monitoring reveals evidence of possible abuse or criminal activity, system personnel may provide the results of such monitoring to appropriate officials.  Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage to this service, are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under applicable federal law.  Except for complainants who voluntarily provide us with personally identifying information, and except for authorized enforcement investigations such as discussed herein, no attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.

Site information may be distributed or copied, subject to Sections 701 and 709 of Title 18, U.S. Code.  Unauthorized use of the FBI seal, the words “Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the initials “FBI,” or any imitation “in a manner reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such [activity]...is approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation” is prohibited.

When you file a complaint, we use secure socket layer (SSL) encryption to protect the information you submit.  The information you provide is securely stored offline.

Cookies

A “cookie” is a file placed on your computer’s hard drive or in memory by a web site that allows the site to monitor your use of the site, usually without your knowledge.

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