Privacy policy
Last updated: October 2026
ScamWatcher Pacific is an independent scam-checking service for Pacific communities. People send us messages they're unsure about, and those messages often contain names, phone numbers or account details. This policy explains what we collect, why, who sees it, and how long we keep it.
ScamWatcher Pacific is not a government agency, bank, telco or police service, and is not affiliated with the Australian Government's Scamwatch.
1. What we collect
When you email us a message to check
When you forward a message to check@scamwatcherpacific.com, we receive the whole email: your email address, the forwarded message, its sender details, subject, links, attachments and any images or screenshots.
When you use the form on our website
We receive the email address you give us, your country, where you received the message, the screenshots you upload and any notes you add.
Information about other people
The messages you send us may include details about other people, such as the sender's name, phone number or account. We use these only to check the message.
When you visit our website
- Our hosting provider keeps standard technical logs, such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested.
- We use your IP address briefly to stop the same connection sending too many form submissions.
- Our website loads its fonts from Google Fonts, which receives your IP address when the page loads.
- We don't use analytics or advertising cookies. If you choose a country under "Where to report", your browser remembers that choice on your device. It is not sent to us.
2. How we use it
- To check the message you sent and email you our assessment and advice.
- To answer your follow-up questions.
- To keep the service secure and prevent misuse.
- To improve how we spot scams, for example by adding a new type of scam to our checks.
We don't sell your information, and we don't use it for marketing or advertising.
3. How messages are checked, including AI
Emails are checked by our own automatic checks, which look at who sent the message, what it asks for, where its links go and whether it matches a known scam.
Screenshots and images are also read by an AI service, Anthropic's Claude. It reads the text in the image, translates Pacific languages into English and drafts an assessment.
Most replies are sent to you automatically. If the system is unsure, for example because an image is hard to read, a member of our team checks the assessment before the reply is sent.
4. Who we share it with
We share your information only with the service providers that run ScamWatcher Pacific, and only so they can provide that service to us:
- Anthropic: reads screenshots and images (AI service).
- Render: hosts our website and review system.
- Google Workspace: our email.
We may also disclose information if the law requires us to.
5. Information handled overseas
Our review system is hosted in Singapore, our AI service is based in the United States, and our email provider stores data in several countries. By using the service, you understand that your information may be handled outside your own country. We take reasonable steps to choose providers that protect it.
6. How long we keep it
We keep what you send only long enough to review it and answer follow-up questions. Everything is deleted automatically after 30 days: the submission, any screenshots, your email in our inbox and our reply in our sent mail.
Deleted emails stay in our email provider's bin for up to 30 more days before they are removed for good. Our service providers may also keep short-term logs or backups under their own policies.
7. Your choices
- Delete sooner: email info@scamwatcherpacific.com from the address you used and ask us to delete what you sent. We'll confirm once it's done.
- Access or correct: email us from the same address to ask what we hold about you, or to correct it.
- Share less: feel free to cover account numbers before sending a screenshot. Never send us passwords, PINs or full card numbers. We will never ask for them.
We only act on requests that come from the email address used to send the message, so nobody can see or delete someone else's submission.
8. Security
Only our review team can see submissions, after signing in to our review system. Our website and review system use encrypted connections. No online service can be completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect what you send.
9. Questions and complaints
Email info@scamwatcherpacific.com. If you aren't happy with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au, or the privacy regulator in your country.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the service changes. The date at the top shows when it last changed.