Hotel Room Card-Key Things
From the California Bureau of Investigation:
"Southern California law enforcement professionals assigned
to detect new threats to personal security issues, recently
discovered what type of information is embedded in the
credit card type hotel room keys used throughout the
industry.
Although room keys differ from hotel to hotel, a key obtained from a
well known hotel chain that was being used for a regional Identity Theft
Presentation was found to contain the following the information:
a.. Customers (your) name
b.. Customers partial home address
c.. Hotel room number
d.. Check in date and check out date
e. Customer's (your) credit card number and expiration date!
When you turn them in to the front desk your personal information is
there for any employee to access by simply scanning the
card in the hotel
scanner.
An employee can take a handfuls of cards home and using a scanning
device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at
your
expense.
Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until
an employee re-issues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the
new
guest's information is electronically "overwritten" on the card and the
previous
guest's information is erased in the overwriting process. But until the card
is
rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front
desk
with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!!!!
The bottom line is: Keep the cards, take them home with you, or
destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and
NEVER
turn them in to the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not
charge you
for the card (it's illegal) and you'll be sure you are not leaving a
lot of valuable personal information on it that could be
easily lifted off with any simple scanning device card reader.
For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you
still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash
basket.
Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the
electronic information strip!
Information courtesy of: Pasadena Police Department
"Southern California law enforcement professionals assigned
to detect new threats to personal security issues, recently
discovered what type of information is embedded in the
credit card type hotel room keys used throughout the
industry.
Although room keys differ from hotel to hotel, a key obtained from a
well known hotel chain that was being used for a regional Identity Theft
Presentation was found to contain the following the information:
a.. Customers (your) name
b.. Customers partial home address
c.. Hotel room number
d.. Check in date and check out date
e. Customer's (your) credit card number and expiration date!
When you turn them in to the front desk your personal information is
there for any employee to access by simply scanning the
card in the hotel
scanner.
An employee can take a handfuls of cards home and using a scanning
device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at
your
expense.
Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until
an employee re-issues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the
new
guest's information is electronically "overwritten" on the card and the
previous
guest's information is erased in the overwriting process. But until the card
is
rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front
desk
with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!!!!
The bottom line is: Keep the cards, take them home with you, or
destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and
NEVER
turn them in to the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not
charge you
for the card (it's illegal) and you'll be sure you are not leaving a
lot of valuable personal information on it that could be
easily lifted off with any simple scanning device card reader.
For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you
still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash
basket.
Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the
electronic information strip!
Information courtesy of: Pasadena Police Department
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