Privacy Policy
The OIG takes the privacy of users seriously and has implemented reasonable precautions to protect your privacy and security. While the OIG will attempt to protect your privacy to the maximum extent reasonably possible, the OIG cannot ensure absolute privacy or anonymity. Information that you provide to the OIG through MAOIG.gov may potentially be subject to disclosure to outside parties by court order or other legal obligation.
Further, as set forth herein, the OIG collects information voluntarily provided by you and uses tools which automatically collect certain data.
OIG Collection, Use, and Dissemination of Information
Information Voluntarily Provided by You
You may submit information to the OIG through forms on MAOIG.gov, including but not limited to fraud reports, OIG Academy course enrollment, and surveys.
The OIG may share information you submit with its partners in order to accomplish its statutory mission. Examples of how the OIG may share such information include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Referring fraud complaint information to other state and federal investigative and prosecutorial agencies in accordance with M.G.L. c. 12A, § 10;
- Using information contained in MCPPO designation applications to run background checks; and
- Submitting electronic payment information to the OIG’s third-party payment processor to facilitate OIG Academy class payments.
These partners act on the OIG’s behalf and are contractually obligated to keep the information provided to them by the OIG confidential and secure.
All information you submit to the OIG will remain confidential unless it becomes necessary for the OIG to make such records public in the performance of its duties, or to comply with state or federal law, a court order, or other legal obligation.
Information Automatically Collected and Stored by MAOIG.gov
The OIG and its partners use cookies to collect and aggregate data regarding MAOIG.gov user activity in order to evaluate and improve website services. Information that may be collected using cookies includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- The Internet domain from which you access MAOIG.gov;
- Your IP address;
- The type and version of browser and operating system you use while accessing MAOIG.gov;
- The date and time you visit MAOIG.gov;
- The pages you viewed on MAOIG.gov; and
- The geographic region from which you access MAOIG.gov.
The OIG may share such information with its partners to assist with operating MAOIG.gov and to obtain necessary technical support. These partners act on the OIG’s behalf and are contractually obligated to keep the information provided to them confidential and secure.
The OIG and its partners use Google Analytics, and may additionally use other services, to track and analyze non-personally identifiable usage and volume statistical information of MAOIG.gov users through the use of cookies, anonymous identifiers, or other technologies.
The OIG and its partners will use this information to track the traffic, usability, performance, and effectiveness of MAOIG.gov. This information is not personally identifiable and is only a general summary of the activities of MAOIG.gov users in aggregate. The OIG will not attempt to match any personally identifiable information that you provide with your IP address unless there are reasonable grounds to believe that doing so would provide information that is relevant and material to a criminal investigation or necessary to comply with state or federal law.
The OIG will not sell any information collected through MAOIG.gov or submitted to the OIG in conjunction with the use of MAOIG.gov.
Social Media and Third-Party Platforms
Social media platforms linked through MAOIG.gov are hosted by third-party providers. When visiting these third-party social media sites, you are subject to the third-party provider’s privacy policies and terms of service. Additionally, MAOIG.gov may link to other web portals through which users are able to submit information. Any such portals hosted by third party providers are subject to that provider’s privacy policies and terms of service.
The OIG strongly recommends that you read the privacy policies for any external site visited through a link appearing on MAOIG.gov.