Who we are
OSINTrace is a South African crypto crime investigation and scam intelligence practice, offering a public scam reports database, due diligence checks, and training alongside our investigations. For POPIA purposes, OSINTrace is the responsible party for the personal information described in this policy. You can reach our Information Officer at info@osintrace.com.
What we collect, and why
We only collect what's needed to review a submission, deliver a service, or respond to you. This table covers every form on the site:
| Where | What we collect | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Submit a Report | Your name, email, phone, province; reported entity details; evidence files | To review, moderate, and (where you consent) publish the case; to follow up with you |
| Investigation / Due Diligence / Pro Bono requests | Your name, email, phone, case details, evidence files; optional police case details | To scope and deliver the requested service |
| Contact form | Your name, email, phone, message | To respond to your enquiry |
| Newsletter | Your email address | To send scam alerts you've opted into |
| Guide / course purchases | Your name, email, payment method (not full card details — see Payments below) | To deliver what you paid for |
We do not run analytics or advertising trackers on this site, and we don't sell or rent your personal information to anyone, ever.
What's published vs. kept private
For scam reports specifically, we publish only the details relevant to identifying the reported entity (its name, domains, wallets, etc.) — never your own name, email, phone, province, or exact loss amount. The full breakdown is in our Submission Guidelines.
Who we share information with
Your information is visible to OSINTrace moderators/analysts on a need-to-know basis only. We use a small number of service providers (operators, in POPIA terms) to run the platform — each only processes what's needed to provide their specific service:
- Railway — application hosting and database storage
- Zoho — mailbox hosting for our own inboxes
- Resend — delivery of transactional emails (confirmations, notifications, decisions)
We don't share your information with any other third party unless required by law (e.g. a valid court order), or with your explicit consent.
Payments
OSINTrace never sees or stores your full card number. Payments are processed by our payment provider directly; we only receive confirmation that a payment succeeded.
Cookies and local storage
We don't use tracking or advertising cookies. The site uses your browser's local session storage only to keep you logged in to the admin/analyst dashboard while your tab is open — this is cleared automatically when you close the tab, and doesn't apply to public visitors at all.
How long we keep your information
We keep personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose it was collected for, to provide an ongoing case or service, or as required by law — and no longer than that.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS. Account passwords are stored as one-way cryptographic hashes, never in plain text. Access to submitted personal information is restricted to authorised OSINTrace moderators and analysts.
Your rights under POPIA
You have the right to:
- Ask us what personal information we hold about you, and get a copy of it
- Ask us to correct information that's inaccurate or out of date
- Ask us to delete information we no longer have a lawful reason to keep
- Object to how we're processing your information, or withdraw consent you previously gave
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe we've mishandled your information
To exercise any of these, email info@osintrace.com — we'll respond within a reasonable time.
Web: inforegulator.org.za
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za · complaints: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
Children's information
OSINTrace's services aren't directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site's features change. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.