is someone trying to get my information on Simtropolis

[ReshiramLover 48]

I got a PM from a member I NEVER heard of claiming to be a moderator asking for my age and birthdate saying the website will be shut down I members don't provide it... I don't see anything ANYWHERE on the website about it... is someone trying to gain access to my personal information???

[Wiecher 192]

Obviously a scam.

[Darth Apple 54]

Check your posts from your profile. Are there any posts you don't recognize in there?

[TekindusT 3,809]

The complete list of moderators and admins can be found here [link]. If this person doesn't appear here, well... it's not a staff member.

[Jasoncw 11,839]

You can tell if someone is a moderator by going to their profile. For example, in mine, it says "Group: Moderator" while for most people it would say "Group: Member".

A moderator may want to confirm someone's age, because there's an age requirement to be on Simtropolis. In the US and most other countries there are laws like this one which require verifiable parental permission in order for people under 13 to be a member. Simtropolis isn't capable of verifying parental consent, and so in order to comply with those laws, Simtropolis only allows people old enough (13) to participate without parental consent to be members. It's illegal for Simtropolis to have members under 13.

If a weirdo ever asks you for personal information, report them to a moderator.

[Xyloxadoria 1,099]

I sent you that PM because of the nature of your posts is typical of someone who is under 13 years of age. (Multiple question marks at the end of sentences, using capital letters for random words, or entire posts, complaining whenever something doesn't go your way) The government takes the COPPA law very seriously. Under that law, they have the power to fine or shut down this website if they find kids under 13 on this website. In fact they just made the law even stricter this year.

[Darth Apple 54]

As the users above said, the government does take COPPA very seriously. Being that I have experience running small websites, it is something that any website's staff has to take very seriously in order for the website to remain online. With communities as large as Simtropolis, a moderator asking for your age is not someone trying to gain access to your information, as it is merely their duty to keep the site running within legal bounds. If it ever goes beyond this, it is something that you should report to a moderator immediately.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

It was proper for you to ask. You have to be very careful about phishing expeditions, but a PM is more secure than e-mail.

[CaptCity 4,669]

We'll close this. Sounds like something that needs to be handled out of the forums. Thanks.