Hotel key cards can present a serious ID fraud risk
Hotel key cards can hold a lot of sensitive personal information. And hotel key cards could present a serious ID fraud risk to holidaymakers as we head towards the holiday season.
Magnetic key cards could include the customer’s name, part of their home address, their room number, the check in and out dates, and most crucially their credit card number and expiry date. When a guest returns their key card to the front desk, their personal information can stay on the card and possibly not get wiped until the card is reused for another customer. Equifax believes this could mean there is a very real risk that someone could access the information and use it to commit identity fraud.
“Many holidaymakers do not realise that hotel key cards can contain their name, part of their address and their credit card number” confirmed Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director, Equifax. “And, in the wrong hands, that could provide some really useful information to get an ID fraud scam going. If consumers’ hand the cards back in to the hotel reception, or throw them away when checking out, they could make themselves particularly vulnerable to this unseen crime.”
“Many people will leave these key cards in their room or simply throw them away. However, they could contain exactly the kind of information a fraudster needs to open accounts in the victim’s name and mount up huge debts” continued Neil Munroe. “And worst of all, the victim will be completely unaware that their identity has been stolen until the bills start rolling in. Meanwhile the fraudster is long gone.”
Hotels may not erase the information on these cards until an employee reissues 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. But until the card is rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front desk with the previous guest’s information on it.
“Hotel companies cannot charge guests for cards that are not returned” concluded Neil Munroe. “So the best advice is to take the card with you when you check out and cut it up when you get home. And if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the card key in your pocket, don’t throw it the airport rubbish bin!”
Top tips to avoid hotel key card scams:
- Never leave your hotel key card behind in the room or waste basket
- Never give the key card in to the front desk when you check out
- If the hotel ask you for the key card insist that it is wiped clean or destroyed there and then so you can be sure no information has been left behind
- Do not throw the key card away at the airport or station
- Take the key card home and cut it up through the electronic information strip
- If it is too hard to cut up, run a magnet across the strip several times to erase the information
Reproduced from an article published by Security Park
© Security Park
The original article can be viewed here:
http://www.securitypark.co.uk/security_article263041.html
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