MOTS's Privacy Policy

Mall of the SIMS is committed to providing a fun, safe and secure website for people of all ages. We are dedicated to safeguarding all personal information collected online and to helping our visitors learn how to exercise control over personal information while exploring the Internet. Because some visitors to this site are children, we try to take care that children access only the content that is appropriate for them. In some instance you may find some material questionable, such as Renaissance Art. We ask that parents use their own judgement in guiding their children as we do not block any material similar to what is available at the public library from viewing.

To help ensure a rewarding online experience for all visitors, we provide this summary of our information practices. This privacy notice governs the collection and use of information at Mallofthesims.com.

As we continue to offer our visitors new and different types of content and services, we may modify our practices from time to time. However, we will treat all personal information we collect in accordance with the privacy notice in effect at the time the information is collected.

I. Collected Information

At Mallofthesims.com, we do not collect personally identifiable information unless required for use or our visitors voluntarily provide it to us. For some activities, such as online polls or surveys, we may ask visitors to provide information that is or is not personally identifiable. This might include first name only, city or state of residence, age, gender, or the like. For some other activities, such as entering sweepstakes and subscribing to our e-mail newsletters, we may ask visitors to provide a first name and e-mail address and related information.

Visitors who order merchandise or other materials from Mallofthesims.com will be required to provide their full name, billing and mailing addresses, e-mail address, telephone number and a credit card number. If the order is being shipped to a third party, we will also need the recipient's name and mailing address. Before collecting information in connection with a Mallofthesims.com order, we will verify the validity of the purchaser's credit card. Any additional information regarding shopper's personal shopping preferences would be requested on a voluntary basis.

When a child under thirteen asks to receive an e-mail newsletter, or participates in another ongoing activity that requires the collection, retention, and use of personal information, we will also ask for a parent's e-mail address so that we can notify the parent that we have received personal information from their child. We do not knowingly collect names, e-mail or mailing addresses or data from children under thirteen without notifying the parent via e-mail and giving the parent the option to remove their child's e-mail address from the applicable database for that activity.

For specific one-time requests we receive from visitors, e-mail addresses are collected and used only in connection with the specific one-time request. For example, for sweepstakes and contests, e-mail addresses are collected for the purpose of entering the online sweepstakes or contest on a one-time basis and are used to notify winners of the sweepstakes or contest by e-mail. Winners will be required to return a completed prize acceptance form contained in the notification e-mail by facsimile or U.S. mail within a designated time period (along with the signature of a parent or legal guardian for all minors).

When visitors come to our site, we automatically collect some non-personally identifiable information such as the type of computer operating system (e.g., Windows '95 or Mac OS) and browser (e.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer) being used, and the domain name of the Internet service provider (e.g., America Online, Earthlink). We may also monitor IP addressed to ensure proper use of accounts.

II. How We Use the Information

We use visitors' personal information for internal purposes, such as enabling visitors to enter our online contests or sweepstakes, to subscribe to our website, or to order from Mallofthesims.com. We keep any personal information we obtain through a contest or sweepstakes until we have successfully selected a winner(s), awarded the prize(s), and administered the contest or sweepstakes and then may use the same to announce other similar events or offers.

We use the e-mail addresses and other information of subscribers to our Mallofthesims.com e-mail newsletters to send them the requested newsletter(s), etc. in accordance with the terms of this Policy. Each newsletter also includes instructions for subscription removal.

We do not license, rent, sell, or otherwise share with third parties our visitors or subscriber's identifiable personal information without their consent. Providing voluntary personal information upon request constitutes consent on the part of the Provider. Sometimes, we use agents or contractors to provide services to our visitors, such as helping us conduct a sweepstakes, sending prizes to winners, or shipping customer orders made on Mallofthesims.com. In all cases, we require the agent or contractor to keep the information confidential and to use it only for the specific services they are performing.

We sometimes use non-personally identifiable information that we collect to improve the design and content of our site, and to improve our visitors' experience on Mallofthesims.com. We may also aggregate this information (and/or/with other additional identifiable personal information) to analyze site usage, as well as to offer products, programs, or services.

We will disclose information we maintain as required by law, for example, in response to a court order or a subpoena. We also may disclose such information in response to a specific law enforcement agency's request.

We will not use or transfer personally identifiable information in ways that are materially different from the ones described above without also providing notification of such practices through changes in this Policy notice. Any prior participant who does not agree to or with the changes may be removed upon notice.

III. Collection of Information by Third-Party Sites, Affiliates & Sponsors

Our site contains links to other sites, whose information practices may be different from ours. Visitors should consult these other third party sites' privacy notices, since these sites are not covered by our privacy policy and may follow different procedures.

IV. Cookies

Mallofthesims.com uses a software technology called "cookies." Cookies are small text files that we place in visitors' computer browsers to store their preferences. Cookies themselves do not contain any personally identifiable information. Although cookies could enable us to relate a visitor's use of this web site to personal information that the visitor has provided, such as an e-mail address, we do not use cookies for this purpose, we use session cookies to ensure that accounts are not being abused at the expense of our members. We may use cookies to determine how many visitors we have and how often they visit various sections of our site.

V. Security

We try to maintain appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data security, and correctly use the information we collect online.We are particularly sensitive to visitors' security concerns regarding the use of credit cards to purchase products over the Internet. We out source all credit card purchases. Contact us for information as to how to access our "out sources" Privacy Policies. Additional and other payment methods are outsourced to PayPal (www.PayPal.com), ePenzio (www.epenzio.com) and iBill (www.ibill.com).

VI. Contact Us

If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our privacy policy and/or practices, please contact us via the help desk.

VII. A Final Note to Parents

The Internet offers a world of opportunity for children. Your guidance and involvement are essential to help ensure that children have a safe and rewarding online experience. Your efforts to instill responsible information practices will help steer your children to age-appropriate sites, and will go a long way toward ensuring that your children have enriching online experiences.