Terms of Use & Program Registration.

At a glance

Cancel a paid class at least 96 hours before it starts for a full refund of the class fee, or send someone in your place at any time. Free classes have no registration fee.

Please respect other participants' stories, do not record sessions without permission, and contact us about any accessibility needs.

1. About these Terms and who may register

Shielded in Dignity® is operated by BlackCrest Cyber, LLC. These Terms govern use of this website and registration for our programs.

You must be 18 or older to register. If you register someone else, you confirm that you have their permission or other lawful authority, and that you will share event details and these notices with them.

When you register for a paid class, you will be asked to check a box agreeing to these Terms, including that Maryland law governs them, with a link to our Privacy Notice. By registering for or participating in any program, paid or free, you acknowledge that Maryland law governs these Terms (see Section 13).

2. Educational purpose and urgent fraud concerns

Our programs provide general cyber-safety education. They are not individualized legal, financial, investment, or incident-response advice. Participation does not guarantee prevention of scams or fraud.

If you believe fraud is happening now:

• Contact your bank or financial institution right away.
• Consider contacting local law enforcement.
• Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Adults 60 and older, or someone helping them, may call the U.S. Department of Justice National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).

3. Registration

Enrollment depends on event eligibility, capacity, and accurate registration information. Your registration is confirmed only when our system tells you it is confirmed. Submitting a form or returning from checkout does not by itself confirm a seat.

4. Free and host-sponsored programs

Classes identified as free or host-sponsored carry no participant registration fee. Arrangements with host organizations may be governed by separate written agreements.

5. Paid programs

Prices, currency, and any applicable taxes, shipping, or separately charged materials will be shown before payment. Applicable taxes are calculated at checkout based on your approximate location, determined from your internet (IP) address, and, for shipped materials, your shipping address where the law requires it.

When online payment is offered, payments are processed by Stripe-hosted Checkout. Enrollment is confirmed only after payment is verified and a seat is available.

6. Cancellations, refunds, substitutions, and transfers

Participant cancellations. You are eligible for a full refund of the class registration fee if we receive your cancellation request at least 96 hours before the scheduled start time, measured in the event's published local time zone. Later requests are not eligible under the standard policy, though BlackCrest Cyber may approve exceptions or provide remedies required by law.

How to cancel. Email support@blackcrestcyber.com or call 202-930-3108. For email, the timestamp recorded by our support inbox shows when we received your request. For phone, the time of your call or voicemail, as recorded by our phone system, shows when we received it. Receipt time, not staff review time, decides eligibility.

Refund processing. Authorized staff verify the payment and eligibility, then approve eligible refunds. Refunds are issued through Stripe to the original payment method when available. Bank processing times vary. BlackCrest Cyber absorbs any unrecovered Stripe processing fees on full class-fee refunds.

Organizer cancellations and material rescheduling. If BlackCrest Cyber cancels a paid class, or materially reschedules it and you cannot attend the new time, you may choose a full refund of the class registration fee or a transfer to an available replacement class. You are not required to accept a replacement.

Workbooks. Physical workbooks may be prepared or mailed in advance. If you cancel on time after your workbook has shipped, you may keep it, and nothing is deducted from your class-fee refund. Separately purchased merchandise may have its own disclosed terms.

Substitutions. You may send another adult in your place at no charge, including after the refund cutoff, if we receive the request before the event begins and the substitute provides the required registration and consent information. A substitution does not add a seat or entitle you to a refund.

Medical-emergency transfer. If a medical emergency prevents you from attending after the refund cutoff, you may request one transfer per paid registration, at no added charge, to an available class scheduled within 12 months of the original event. Please ask as soon as practical. No diagnosis or medical records are required. This is a transfer, not a cash refund, and it does not affect any rights you have under law. If no class is available within 12 months of the original event, you will receive a full refund of the class registration fee.

Free and sponsored classes. No refund is due where no participant fee was paid. Please cancel promptly if you cannot attend so someone else can use the seat.

Nothing in this section limits cancellation, refund, or consumer-protection rights that cannot lawfully be waived.

7. Event changes

We will make reasonable efforts to tell you about material changes to schedule, format, or location. If a class is materially rescheduled and you cannot attend the new time, the refund-or-transfer choice in Section 6 applies.

8. Participant conduct and confidentiality

Treat participants, facilitators, and staff with respect. Do not harass, threaten, disrupt sessions, submit malicious content, impersonate others, or attempt unauthorized access.

Participants may share personal experiences. Please respect their dignity, and do not share other participants' identifying details or personal scam stories outside the session without their permission. We cannot guarantee that every attendee will follow this expectation.

Participants and host organizations may not photograph, audio-record, video-record, livestream, or redistribute a session without prior written authorization from BlackCrest Cyber and any other permissions required by law.

9. Privacy and accessibility

We handle personal information under our Privacy Notice. Optional marketing consent is separate from registration.

For large-print materials, captioning, hearing support, seating arrangements, or other accessibility needs, contact support@blackcrestcyber.com or 202-930-3108 as early as possible.

10. Intellectual property and permitted use

Shielded in Dignity® is a registered trademark of BlackCrest Cyber, LLC. Program branding, website content, videos, and educational materials are owned by BlackCrest Cyber, LLC or the applicable rights holders.

Materials given to individual participants are licensed for personal, non-commercial use only, unless a separate written license says otherwise.

Participants and host organizations may not commercially reproduce, adapt, redeliver, resell, record, distribute, or publicly display program content without written permission. Attending or hosting a program does not grant the right to train others using it or to distribute recordings.

11. Website availability

The website and its content are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, subject to consumer rights that cannot be waived. Interruptions and maintenance may occur. If checkout is interrupted, check your payment and registration status before paying again.

12. Third-party services

Some registrations, meetings, and payments use third-party providers with their own notices and terms. Using these providers does not reduce our responsibilities to you.

13. Legal rights and limitations

Nothing in these Terms excludes rights or liabilities that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Governing law and venue. These Terms, and your participation in any Shielded in Dignity® program, are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. By registering for or participating in a program, you acknowledge that Maryland law governs. Disputes will be brought in the state or federal courts serving Prince George's County, Maryland, unless the law of your state gives you the right to bring a claim where you live.

Disclaimer. Our programs and materials provide general education. Except as stated in these Terms, and to the extent the law allows, we make no other promises or warranties, including that the website will be error-free or that program content will prevent any particular scam or loss.

Limitation of liability. To the extent the law allows, our total liability for any claim relating to a program or these Terms is limited to the amount you paid for that program. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, including losses caused by fraud committed by others. This does not limit liability for our gross negligence, willful misconduct, or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

Severability. If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.

Entire agreement. These Terms, our Privacy Notice, and any event-specific terms shown at registration are the entire agreement between you and us about program registration. Separate written agreements govern our relationships with host organizations.

14. Changes to these Terms

Each approved version shows a version number and effective date. Material changes affecting existing paid registrations will be handled under the terms that applied to that transaction and applicable law.

15. Contact

BlackCrest Cyber, LLC | Shielded in Dignity®

Email: support@blackcrestcyber.com | Phone: 202-930-3108

Postal address: 120 Waterfront St., Ste. 420, National Harbor, MD 20745

https://blackcrestcyber.com/community-impact