Privacy, Data & Safety Policy

Our Privacy Promise

We do not collect personal data unless you choose to share it. We do not track you. We do not sell or share information. We exist to help victims, not to build databases.

This page explains exactly what we collect, how we use it, and what we deliberately avoid.

What We Do NOT Collect

We have made a deliberate decision not to collect or store certain types of information:

Information	Status	Why
Victim names	Never collected	Protects privacy, prevents accidental exposure
Suspect names	Never collected	We do not investigate or identify individuals
Case details	Never collected	Police handle investigations; we provide support
Addresses	Never collected	Physical locations could endanger people
Screenshots of threats	Never collected	Evidence stays with victims and police
Payment records	Never collected	Financial data is sensitive and unnecessary for our role
Immigration status	Never collected	Not relevant to our support function
Phone numbers	Never collected	No call-back lists, no contact databases
IP addresses	Not logged	No server-side tracking of visitors
Visitor analytics	Minimal only	We use privacy-respecting analytics (no cookies, no cross-site tracking)

What We DO Collect

The only information we collect is what you voluntarily send us:

Email Inquiries

When you email us at info@stop-extortion.ca, workshops@stop-extortion.ca, or other addresses:

What we keep: Your email address, the message content, and our reply
Where it is stored: In a secure email account
Who sees it: Only the person responding to your inquiry
How long: Deleted after the conversation is complete, unless you request ongoing contact
Shared with: No one. Not police, not partners, not government agencies

Exception: If someone emails us about an imminent threat to life or safety, we may contact emergency services. This is a legal and ethical obligation, not a policy loophole.

Workshop Requests

When you request a workshop:

What we keep: Organization name, contact person, preferred dates, audience type, language preference
Where it is stored: In our workshop coordination system (password-protected)
Who sees it: Workshop facilitators and coordinators
How long: Until the workshop is completed, then deleted
Shared with: No one outside our facilitation team

Partnership Inquiries

When organizations inquire about partnership:

What we keep: Organization name, contact person, type of partnership interest
Where it is stored: Secure email and partner directory
Who sees it: Partnership coordinator
How long: As long as the partnership is active, then archived
Shared with: Only with your explicit permission (e.g., listing your organization as a partner)

How We Anonymize

Community Advisories

Our community advisories use only aggregated, anonymized information:

“We are seeing increased reports of phone-based extortion targeting seniors”
“WhatsApp threats involving immigration language have been reported multiple times this month”

What advisories never include:

Individual case details
Victim names or identifying information
Suspect information
Specific locations beyond general areas (e.g., “Surrey” not “the house on 123 Main St”)
Dates or times that could identify a specific incident
Information from a single source

Advisory Sources

Advisories are based on:

Official sources: RCMP, police, government announcements
Partner reports: From trusted community organizations (anonymized before use)
Aggregated patterns: Multiple reports showing a trend (never a single report)
Media monitoring: Verified news reports

We never use:

Social media rumours
Single unverified tips
Information that could compromise a police investigation
Operational details that could help criminals

Community Reporting vs. Our Role

We want to be clear about what happens when someone reports extortion:

Action	Who Does It	What We Do
Report to police	Victim or witness	We provide guidance on how; we do not make the report
Report to Crime Stoppers	Anonymous tipster	We provide the number; we do not handle the tip
Report to VictimLink	Victim seeking support	We provide the number; we do not receive the report
Share a concern with us	Community member	We listen, provide resources, and do not log identifying details

We are a signpost, not a mailbox. We point people to the right places. We do not collect reports on behalf of police or government.

Data Security

How We Protect Information

No cloud storage of sensitive data: Email is the primary system; no external CRM or database
No shared drives: Sensitive information is not stored in Google Drive, Dropbox, or similar
No third-party sharing: We do not share contact lists, email addresses, or inquiry content with partners unless you explicitly request it
No cookies or tracking scripts: The website does not use Google Analytics, Facebook pixels, or similar tracking
No server-side logging: We do not log visitor IP addresses or browsing behaviour

What This Means

If law enforcement requested our records:

We would have no victim database to hand over
We would have no case files to share
We would have no location data to provide
We would have only generic email correspondence about workshops or partnerships

This is by design. The best way to protect data is not to collect it.

Your Rights

What You Can Ask For

Access: Ask us what information we have about you (email us from the same address)
Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate information
Deletion: Ask us to delete your information
Restriction: Ask us not to contact you again
Explanation: Ask us how we used your information

How to Exercise These Rights

Email: privacy@stop-extortion.ca

We will respond within 10 business days. We will not ask you to prove your identity beyond confirming the email address you used to contact us.

Community Safety vs. Privacy

Sometimes these values can seem in tension. Here is how we navigate that:

Situation	Privacy Approach	Safety Approach
Someone shares a concern	Keep their identity confidential	Provide resources and reporting pathways
A pattern emerges	Anonymize all details before any public mention	Use aggregated data for community advisories
Police request information	Share only what is legally required (which is minimal, because we collect little)	Cooperate with lawful requests
Media requests comment	Do not confirm or deny individual cases	Provide general, anonymized information about trends
Community leader asks “is this happening to others?”	Do not share individual cases	Confirm that patterns exist, without details

For Researchers and Journalists

General trends (anonymized, aggregated)
Publicly available information from official sources
Our educational materials and methodologies
Our approach to community engagement

Any information that could identify a victim
Any information that could identify a suspect
Any case details
Any information from a single source
Any information that could compromise a police investigation

For Partners

Organizations partnering with us must agree to:

Not collect victim data through our partnership
Anonymize any information shared for advisory purposes
Protect confidentiality of any individual who contacts them through our referral
Report back if they identify safety concerns in our materials

Transparency Report

We publish this information annually:

How many inquiries we received
How many workshops were requested
How many partnership inquiries we received
How many deletion/correction requests we processed
Any legal requests for information we received

First report: January 2027 (covering June–December 2026)

Contact

Privacy questions: privacy@stop-extortion.ca

General inquiries: info@stop-extortion.ca

To report extortion: Use official channels — we do not handle reports

Updates

This policy was last updated: June 2026

We review this policy every 6 months. Changes will be posted here with a date.

Alliance Against Organized Coercion and Targeted Extortion Last updated: June 2026 Next review: December 2026