Helpline Terms & Conditions of Use
By indicating to our chatbot that you want to speak to a human cyber security expert you will be asked for contact details and be passed over to our human helpline service. By using this service you agree with the terms and conditions listed below. If you do not agree, please do not proceed with the case.
Our helpline is staffed by volunteers. Our volunteers have a diverse range of cyber security skills and qualifications, and are offering to help free of charge. We will endeavour to help you with your problem or point you in the direction of other organisations who are able to help where we are not.
All of our volunteers who work directly with victims have been screened, DBS checked, identity verified, have signed a confidentiality agreement and have completed our in house training course.
We can only support individuals and sole traders in the United Kingdom. We do have a paid option outside of the UK and you can find this here - https://www.thecyberhelpline.com/international-help .
While we make all reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, it does not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon as such.
The Cyber Helpline does not accept any responsibility for any liability arising as a result of reliance upon the information given.
We will do our best to be mindful of the timeframes involved in your case, but cannot guarantee an immediate or fast response. We will do our best to support you - and respond to you - as soon as possible.
Any abuse of our helpline team will not be tolerated. Cases will be immediately paused and sent for review by one of the Directors.
Our helpline team can only provide advice, guidance and connect you with online content that will help you recover. Under no circumstances will they remotely connect to your online accounts or devices to try and fix your issue - or meet you in person to help fix your issue.
The Cyber Helpline will inform you of the options that are available to you. You will decide what, if any, actions you wish to take. We will respect your decision.
Your case is treated confidentially. The Helpline Responder may share details of the case internally on a ‘need to know’ basis, so they can get expert advice and support.
Should you agree for information in your case to be shared with a third party who can help you - or you wish to be referred to a third party - then we will agree with you in advance what and when this information is shared. For example you may wish to be put in touch with a charity that provides expert advice in bullying or victim support - or with an organisation that can provide remote technical support to help you with your issue.
Our helpline staff strictly follow our Vulnerable User Policy. If they feel you meet the criteria of a vulnerable user they will refer the case to a Director of the helpline who will decide how best to proceed with the case. We define a vulnerable user as: “Any user under 18 years old, any user who discloses being in physical danger from themselves or someone external, any user who has additional needs in understanding their case.”.
We do not report your case to the police. Only in high risk situations where you or a child is in danger we may make the decision to report. First, we would try to work with you to assist in you gaining protection, but if you are unable to do so we may act on your behalf.
All information provided to us by you will be treated as confidential. See our Privacy Policy for more information. You agree to keep our volunteer data confidential, as well as the advice and guidance that we have provided.
You should never provide any security information (such as passwords, two-factor codes) or any private information like account numbers. We do not need these as part of our case.
Your call may be recorded. We record calls for training purposes, but also so that we have a record of our advice for the duration of the case. These calls are securely stored and securely erased when no longer needed.