Privacy Policy
GREETING CARD INDUSTRY AND THE FBI WARN CONSUMERS OF E-CARD SCAM
GENERAL MATTERS
Overview
At CowrieCards.com, protecting our users' privacy and security is a top
priority. For this reason, we have adopted the following policy to advise you
of your choices regarding the use of your personal information online. This
policy describes what types of information we gather about you, how we use it,
under what circumstances we disclose it to third-parties, and your rights to
update or correct it.
Scope of Policy
This Policy applies to CowrieCards.com only. It does not apply to other
companies' or organizations' web sites to which we link. You should carefully
review the privacy policies of those web sites in order to determine how they
treat your personal information.
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
Information Gathered From All Visitors
Aggregate Data
We gather certain generic information, in the aggregate, with respect to how
customers collectively use our web site, such as the number of unique visitors,
the frequency with which they visit, and the areas on the web site that they
favor. We only use this type of data in summary form, rather than on an individual
basis. This data helps us determine the extent to which our customers use
certain parts of our web site, which, in turn, enables us better service our
users. We may also provide statistical information to advertisers, sponsors,
and other companies with which we do business ("Business Partners"),
about how our customers collectively use our web site. This statistical
information does not contain any personally identifiable information about any
of our users.
Cookies
We may place a text file called a "cookie" in the browser files of
your computer. The cookie itself does not contain Personal Information although
it will enable us to relate your use of this site to information that you have
specifically and knowingly provided. But the only personal information a cookie
can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can't read data off
your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. CowrieCards.com
uses cookies to track user traffic patterns (as described above).
You can refuse
cookies by turning them off in your browser. If you've set your browser to warn
you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each
cookie. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use this site. It is
important to note that you may not be able to use certain features on our web
site if you choose not to accept cookies, such as subscription cards, My
Account, address book, favorites, reminders, calendar, etc. In addition, you
will not be able to participate in any of our polls, surveys, sweepstakes or
contests. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our
users to enhance their experience on our site.
When You Send A Greeting
If you use our web site to send an online greeting or any other content, we
collect your e-mail address and your recipient's e-mail address. This
information is necessary to send the content and provide confirmation that it
has been received. We will not use your recipient's e-mail address for any
purpose other than to send the greeting. We may also use your e-mail address to
contact you if you have chosen to receive communications from CowrieCards.com
or its Partners. (See Opt-Out/Changing Your Status, below).
COWRIECARDS.COM
INCLUDES THE SENDER IP ADDRESS IN THE HEADER INFORMATION OF EACH GREETINGS
NOTIFICATION E-MAIL IT SENDS. IT IS AVAILABLE TO THE GREETINGS RECIPIENT AND
ANYONE ELSE WHO IS FORWARDED THE NOTIFICATION E-MAIL. THIS LIMITS YOUR ABILITY
TO COMMUNICATE ANONYMOUSLY USING ELECTRONIC GREETINGS. ELECTRONIC GREETINGS ARE
NEITHER INTENDED NOR APPROPRIATE FOR ANONYMOUS COMMUNICATIONS, AND SUCH
ACTIVITY IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED BY THE ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY IN OUR TERMS OF SERVICE.
Communications from
CowrieCards.com
The following are the circumstances in which we will send you e-mails.
- Member Announcements. Periodically we will
send you an email detailing new e-card releases and new features of our
website.
- Card Notifications. When you order any
e-cards from our site, we will email you to tell you when the cards have
been sent, and also when they are picked up by the recipients. If a card
cannot be delivered we will also send you the non-delivery notice.
- Birthday Reminders. If you enter the
birth dates of your friends and family in your CowrieCards.com address
book, then we will send you an email to remind you about each birthday.
- Renewal reminders. When your membership
is about to expire, we will send you a maximum of two renewal reminders.
If you have selected auto-renew, we will automatically renew your
membership. If you have not selected auto-renew and have not renewed after
the second reminder, we will not trouble you again.
- Promotions and coupons. Occasionally,
CowrieCards.com may sponsor contests and/or promotions on our sites or in
our e-mail products. Participation in such contests is purely voluntary.
In order to enter a contest or promotion, you may be asked to provide
personally identifiable information. By entering, you agree to all of its
terms and conditions, which will be clearly outlined in the rules. Where a
contest or promotion is not sponsored by CowrieCards.com, the identity of
the sponsor will be clearly disclosed in the rules. CowrieCards.com cannot
be responsible for actions or policies of third-party contest sponsors.
Users are encouraged to review the relevant privacy policy of the sponsor
before entering.
- Polling & Surveys. We may offer
interactive polls to users so they can easily share their opinions about
an array of topics. Opinions or other responses to polls are aggregated
and are not identifiable to any particular user. CowrieCards.com may use a
system to "tag" users after they have voted, so they can vote
only once on a particular question. This tag is not correlated with
information about individual users. Additionally, CowrieCards.com may
occasionally conduct user surveys to better target our content to our
audience. We sometimes share the aggregated demographic information in
these surveys with our sponsors, advertisers and partners. We never share
any of this information about specific individuals with any third party.
- Administrative and
help emails.
In addition, we will of course reply to your help requests, and we may
send you miscellaneous administrative correspondence - password reminders,
confirmation of payment, renewal confirmations, etc.
You
can always decline or unsubscribe to the announcement by un-checking the
opt-out box the registration page on our site or simply follow the
"unsubscribe" links at the bottom of each announcement. For other
ways to unsubscribe, see Opt-Out/Changing Your Status, below.
Communications from Our
Business Partners
CowrieCards.com also offers you the opportunity to receive money-saving offers,
discounts, giftcards and promotions from our Business Partners. These
communications may come from CowrieCards.com or directly from the Partners
themselves. We may also share with them certain demographic, geographic,
preference, and other personally identifiable information we have gathered about
you. This will help them in directing to you offers that are more likely to be
of interest.
This program is conducted strictly on an opt-in basis. In order to receive the
offers, you must affirmatively check the clearly marked box on the "My Account"
page and registration pages on our site. If you leave the box unchecked, you
will not receive any offers. If you do sign up for the program but later change
your mind, you are free at any time to opt-out by following the procedures
outlined in Opt-Out/Changing Your Status, below.
Information Gathered From
Members
If you elect to purchase a Membership on CowrieCards.com, you will be required
to provide us with certain personal information, including your name, e-mail
address, phone number and zipcode (this required information is subject to
change from time to time). There will also be opportunities for you to provide
us with additional information regarding your preferences and interests. This
information, however, is not required and is completely optional on your part.
YOUR CONTROL OVER YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Opt-Out/Changing Your Status
At any time, you can change choices you have previously made as to the use of
your personal information. Every communication CowrieCards.com sends you will
contain a clearly worded "Opt-Out" or "unsubscribe" link
allowing you to withdraw your permission for future mailings. Alternatively,
you can send a blank e-mail to nomail@optout.cowriecards.com
and type "Remove" in the subject field. This system is automated and
must be contacted from the email address you wish to have removed. Permission
changes will be honored as soon as possible after receipt. Please allow five to
seven days for processing. Permission changes will however not affect any
information which you provided to us and which we previously shared with our
Business Partners.
Editing
Your Profile
If you are a registered member, you have the ability to review and correct your
personally identifiable information at any time. Simply sign into the site and
click the "My Account" link in the menu of every page. There, you can change
your address information, e-mail type, sign-in, and e-mail permissions. You can
revise, add, delete, or completely cancel all alerts by following the links to
"Reminders" at the top of each page.
Protection
For Children - COPPA Compliance
Consistent with the Federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
(COPPA), CowrieCards.com will never knowingly request personally identifiable
information from anyone under the age of 13 without requesting parental
consent. To learn more about COPPA, click here
for the Federal Trade Commission COPPA Web Site.
Data Security
When you become a member of CowrieCards.com or place and order for any
CowrieCards products, the order will be fulfilled by PayPal. Using PayPal's
secure transaction service means that CowrieCards.com will not require
credit card or banking information directly from its users or members. It's not
necessary for members to have a PayPal account in order to complete the order.
PayPal doesn't share your financial information, nor does CowrieCards.com have
access to this information.
Orders
and transactions made with one of our business partners will be handled
according to their order and fulfillment procedures and not that of
CowrieCards.com. Be sure to familiarize yourself with their processes,
requirements and privacy policies.
Changes to the Privacy Policy
CowrieCards.com will occasionally update this Privacy Policy in response to
changing business circumstances and legal developments. When CowrieCards.com
posts changes to this Policy, you will see the word "updated" next to
the Privacy Policy link on the front page of CowrieCards.com Sites. If there
are material changes to this Policy or in how CowrieCards.com uses your
personally identifiable information, CowrieCards.com will prominently post such
changes prior to implementing the change. CowrieCards.com encourages you to
periodically review this Policy to be informed of how we are protecting your
information.
USE COMMON SENSE IN ALL YOUR ONLINE ACTIVITIES
Even the best policy can't protect your online privacy and security in all
circumstances. Unscrupulous advertisers, hackers, and scam artists are
constantly searching the Internet looking for new targets. Your best protection
is to understand the limits to privacy on the Internet and use common sense in
all of your on-line activities.
Be aware that e-mail is an inherently insecure form of communication. Remember
that third parties are sometimes able to illegally intercept your unencrypted
messages, including online greetings. Anytime you visit a chat room or post a
message to an on-line bulletin board, your e-mail address can be accessed by
advertisers looking to compile lists for unsolicited commercial e-mail (also
known as spam).
Be
sure that you only disclose your e-mail address in circumstances in which it is
safe to do so.
Beware of scams in which persons unknown to you request your screen name,
password, or credit card information. Make sure you verify the identity of
anyone asking for personal information. Always monitor your children's on-line
activities and educate them as to the rules for safe Internet use. For more
information, click here for the
Internet Education Foundation's Online Safety Guide for Kids.
ComLoc, Corp.
244 Fifth Avenue/Suite H268
New York, NY 10001
559.744.3679
contact@cowriecards.com
