Why this site exists

Still Online is a project of Spell Shield Pty Ltd, a cyber security company in South Australia.

We started it in 2025 for a simple reason. In our work we kept meeting people who had been scammed or hacked, and nearly all of them said a version of the same two things: that they felt stupid, and that they had no idea what to do next. Neither is true. The first is what a scam is built to make you feel. The second has answers.

So the site does two things. It publishes first-hand accounts from people who have been through online crime, in their own words. And it keeps a set of plain-language guides for the days straight after it happens.

What we don’t do

We are not an emergency service, and we are not the police. We cannot recover money, investigate an incident, freeze an account, or contact a platform on your behalf. We do not verify the accounts people submit to us; they are personal experiences, not investigations.

If something is happening right now, the reporting channels on our Get Help page are the right place to start, and if you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number first.

How stories are handled

Every story is read by a person before it appears, and identifying details are removed. We set out exactly how that works, including what we edit and what we leave alone, in our moderation policy.

How it is paid for

The site is free, with no ads and no paywall, and it is funded by Spell Shield along with voluntary contributions from readers. We publish what it actually costs to run on the support page.

Getting in touch

You can reach a person through the contact form on our Get Help page, or by email at hello@shieldmate.io.