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Privacy Policy & Legal Information GENERAL MATTERS
Overview
At Globalist Financial Group, 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 Globalist Financial Group and its affiliated websites. 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 with respect to customers' use of 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. These statistics are very much like television ratings that tell the networks how many people tuned in to a program. We only use this type of data in aggregate-that is, we look at the data on a collective basis, 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 to make it as appealing as possible. We may also provide statistical "ratings" about how our customers collectively use our web site to advertisers, sponsors, and other companies with which we do business ("Business Partners"). We do this so they, too, can understand how often people use their areas of the site in order for them to provide you with the best possible experience. These statistical ratings do not contain any personally identifiable information about you or any of our users.
Cookies
We use a technology nicknamed "cookies" on our web site. Cookies are pieces of information or data sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive for record-keeping purposes. We use cookies to make your visit to our web site easier. For example, cookies allow us to recognize you when you re-enter our web site so that you will not have to sign-in each time you visit. Cookies also allow us to count the number of unique and return visitors who use our site. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can reset your browser to notify you when you've received a cookie or, alternatively, to refuse to accept cookies. 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 Page, address book, favorites, and greetings history. In addition, you will not be able to participate in any of our sweepstakes or contests. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance their experience on our site.
Third Party Advertiser Cookies
We use third-party advertising companies to serve our ads on the Internet. These third-party advertising companies employ cookie and Clear Gif technology (aka 1x1 Pixel .gifs, Web bugs) to measure and improve the effectiveness of ads for their clients. To do so, these companies may use anonymous information about your visits to our Web site and other Web sites. This information can include: date/time of banner ad shown, the banner ad that was shown, their cookie, the IP address. This information can also be used for online preference marketing purposes. Globalist Financial Group does not use or have access to this information.
If you want to prevent a third-party advertiser from setting and/or reading cookies on your computer, currently you may either visit each ad network's web site individually and opt out or visit the web site of the National Advertising Initiative ("NAI") to opt-out of all network-advertising cookies. Click here for the NAI gateway opt-out site. This site will also allow you to review the third-party advertising companies' privacy policies.
Advertising Research Cookies
From time-to-time, outside third party research companies may set cookies on your browser regarding exposure to certain ad placements. These cookies may be used later for research purposes if you later opt-in to take a survey. If you choose to take the survey, these companies may examine your browser to see if a one of their cookies has been set. If the company detects the cookie in your browser, it will gather only 2 pieces of information from it: where you have seen a particular ad and; how many times you have seen it. If you do not want these kinds of cookies to be set to your browser, you can opt-out by clicking here.
IP Addresses
We collect and analyze traffic on our web site by keeping track of the IP addresses of our visitors. IP addresses are unique numeric identifiers that are assigned to each computer browser accessing the Internet. An IP address, by itself, cannot identify you personally. However, when combined with other information provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), your IP address can be used to identify the computer originating a message.
When You Utilize Products and Services Featured on GlobalistFinancial.com
If you use our web site to request a quote or consulting request, product information request, contact request, 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 may also use your e-mail address to contact you if you have chosen to receive communications from Globalist Financial Group or its Partners. (See Opt-Out/Changing Your Status, below).
From time to time, we may send you surveys or solicit your feedback. We use surveys to gage user interest in new products and premiums we may offer. We will ask for your feedback on greetings and other site features. We will use the information we gather to improve our sites and provide a more meaningful experience for our users. We may also use the information to alert you to offers and products in which you have expressed an interest.
Communications from Our Business Partners
Globalist Financial Group also offers you the opportunity to receive money-saving offers, discounts, and promotions from our Business Partners. These communications may come from Globalist Financial Group 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.
Mandatory Communications
Globalist Financial Group reserves the right to communicate with you from time to time about important administrative, policy, legal, credit card, and billing matters, which will affect your use of our web sites, including without limitation any alleged violations of our Terms of Service. These communications are mandatory.
Information Gathered From Members
If you elect to purchase a Membership on Globalist Financial Group, you will be required to provide us with certain personal information, including your name, e-mail address, phone number, credit card number, expiration date, and billing address (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.
If you become a Member of Globalist Financial Group from one of our co-branded sites, we may share your registration information with the co-branded partner. In such instances, the site will be clearly labeled with the branding information of our partner and links to its privacy policy will be conspicuously posted. We may also disclose your offline address to postal advertisers and catalogue marketers. If you do not wish to receive such communications, you can send an e-mail to Customer Service and you will be removed from the list.
GLOBALIST FINANCIAL GROUP'S USES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
If you have provided us your consent, we will use the information we have collected about you in five ways:
• To send personalized, targeted information that we think our users will find relevant, either from Globalist Financial Group or directly from its Business Partners;
• To include targeted advertising within such messages;
• To send promotions and coupons based on the user's interests;
• To contact the user for feedback and surveys; and
• To send the user other information about Globalist Financial Group.
On-Site Advertising
Globalist Financial Group may also use information about you to target advertising while you are visiting our site. For example, we may serve ads from toy companies to users searching the Kids Birthday Greeting pages. We may also use geographic or other information we have collected from you to make sure that the ads you see are for goods and services that are actually of interest to you or are available in your area. We may use cookie files to assure that you will not be served the same ads repeatedly.
Third Party Information Sharing
Generally, we do not share your information with third parties. We do reserve the right to share your information with third party companies we may use to offer premiums, maintain subscriptions and perform other service functions. We do not share equipment or databases with these companies and will not share your credit card information with them without your express permission. Additionally, any company we use will not share, sell, distribute or use your information except to provide us services.
Order Fulfillment
From time to time, you may be given the opportunity to order products and services directly on the Globalist Financial Group site, the Newsletters, or in other communications you may receive from Globalist Financial Group. These orders are typically fulfilled by Globalist Financial Group's Business Partners directly. To process your order, Globalist Financial Group may provide these Partners with your name, street address, e-mail address, phone number, and credit card information. Globalist Financial Group will limit the types of information shared to the minimum necessary to efficiently process your order. However, in accepting these offers, you become a customer of the Business Partner and therefore subject to its privacy policy. Globalist Financial Group will alert users whenever a Business Partner will be fulfilling an order for products or services ordered on our site. We encourage you to review these companies' privacy policies and only do business with those who adhere to personal information practices with which you are comfortable.
Disclosure Exceptions
Notwithstanding the above policies, we reserve the right to disclose your personal information to appropriate third-parties if we are required to do so by law or we believe that such action is necessary:
• To comply with legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena or court order;
• To protect the company's rights and property;
• To investigate reports of users sending material using a false e-mail address or users sending harassing, threatening, or abusive messages;
• To protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our web site and/or the Globalist Financial Group service; or
• During emergencies, such as when we believe someone's physical safety is at risk.
Your IP address can be accessed by greetings recipients in the header of the notification e-mail. Under certain circumstances, recipients, their legal representatives, and/or law enforcement authorities may be able to combine this with information disclosed by ISPs to determine the source of a particular communication. By using this service, you knowingly and voluntarily assume any risks associated with such disclosure.
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 Globalist Financial Group sends you will contain a clearly worded "Opt-Out" link allowing you to withdraw your permission for future mailings. Alternatively, you can click on Website Support on the website or send a blank e-mail to optout@globalistfinancial.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.
California Residents. As of January 1, 2005, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits visitors to this Site who are residents of California to request information regarding Globalist Financial Group's disclosure of their information to third parties for direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact our Customer Support Department.
OTHER MATTERS
Protection For Children - COPPA Compliance
We are committed to protecting the privacy and rights of children online. We believe that children should be able to use the Internet in a safe, productive, and efficient manner and should be afforded the highest protection available with respect to their personal information. To that end, we have made it our policy to not collect any individually identifiable information from users whom we know are under the age of 13.
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") imposes certain requirements upon web sites and online services that are directed toward children. To learn more about COPPA, click here for the Federal Trade Commission COPPA Web Site.
Contests and Promotions
Occasionally, Globalist Financial Group 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 Globalist Financial Group, the identity of the sponsor will be clearly disclosed in the rules. Globalist Financial Group 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.
Sale of Assets
In the event that Globalist Financial Group and/or its units or subsidiaries are ever sold, acquired, merged, liquidated, reorganized, or otherwise transferred, we reserve the right to transfer our user databases together with any personally identifiable information contained therein, to a third-party acquiring Globalist Financial Group's assets. In the event we do so, we will place a prominent notice of the sale on the homepage of our site, with links to information as to how you can change your privacy preferences.
Data Security
When you place orders for purchased products or access your payment information, we use an advanced encryption technology known as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to protect the storage and transfer of your data from unauthorized parties. While on a secure page, such as our registration form, a lock or key icon appears on the bottom of your web browser.
In addition to our online security efforts, we take steps to protect your personal data offline, as well. All of your information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices. Employees are granted access on a need-to-know basis (for example, our billing clerk or a customer support representative). Furthermore, ALL employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. Finally, the servers on which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment, behind a locked cage.
Globalist Financial Group's main servers are operated from a dedicated Internet hosting facility with state-of-the-art physical security features, including smoke detection and fire suppression systems, motion sensors, and 24x7 secured access, as well as video camera surveillance and security breach alarms.
Changes to the Privacy Policy
Globalist Financial Group will occasionally update this Privacy Policy in response to changing business circumstances and legal developments. When Globalist Financial Group posts changes to this Policy, you will see the word "updated" next to the Privacy Policy link on the front page of Globalist Financial Group Sites. If there are material changes to this Policy or in how Globalist Financial Group uses your personally identifiable information, Globalist Financial Group will prominently post such changes prior to implementing the change. Globalist Financial Group 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.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to review our help center where you can contact us with further questions.
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