Keep Your Room Keys!!!

[vacationman]

Don't know if this info has been posted before, but here it is just in case:

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 through-out the industry.

Although room keys differ from hotel to hotel, a key obtained from the "DoubleTree" chain that was being used for a regional Identity Theft Presentation was found to contain the following the information:

* Customers (your) name
* Customers partial home address
* Hotel room number
* Check in date and check out date
* Customers (your) credit card number and expiration date!

When you turn them in to the front desk your personal nformation is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner. An employee can take a hand full 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 these cards until an employee issues the card to the next hotel guest. It is usually kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!!!!

The bottom line is, keep the cards or destroy them! NEVER leave them behind and NEVER turn them in to the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not charge you for the card.

 

[JimC]

Thanks. As if we don't have enough invasion of privacy problems now anyway.

There is a service on the interent that allows you to put in a phone number and it gives you the name and address. Click on a link and you have your choice of a satellite photo of the location or driving directions. You can deregister the numbers but unless you tell your phone company you want unlisted and unpublished numbers it will happen again.

Add to that a cell phone directory that is being established. Right now consumers will have to opt in to the directory. Can you see anyone doing that and then getting unwanted calls and paying for them to boot!

 

[jghra]

Great Info. Thank you.

 

[DebbieB]

I never turn in my Disney Room Keys. My name and dates of stay are printed on them, so they cannot be reused anyway.

 

[LisaR]

You might want to check out www.snopes2.com:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/hotelkey.asp

Lisa

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Lisa,

Great page and web site. I bookmarked it. Thanks.

HBC

 

[JerseyBob]

Every time you use your credit card, store employees will have access to the credit card information along with any other information kept by the store.

 

[msdis]

Yeah my lovely sister and family turned in their cards at the DI slease in SC. But what did they care? It had all my info on it on everyone's cards since I paid for everyone's rooms. I could have killed them. They also checked themselves in without me and without me seeing the place or I would have cancelled. Idiots!!!! And the DI let them without my consent on my CC. Idiots!!!!

 

[Caskbill]

Originally posted by msdis
Yeah my lovely sister and family turned in their cards at the DI slease in SC. But what did they care? It had all my info on it on everyone's cards since I paid for everyone's rooms. I could have killed them. They also checked themselves in without me and without me seeing the place or I would have cancelled. Idiots!!!! And the DI let them without my consent on my CC. Idiots!!!!

Did you follow LisaR's link and check out the Snopes report on this.

Your Credit Card information was NOT on the door keys. Relax.

 

[princetonnj]

vacationman - what is the source of your information?

It is amazing that snopes.com has the exact same wording and punctuation.

 

[msdis]

I only read the blue box, not the rest. If you only knew the whole story on my recent trip you would understand my concern. Clark Griswald has nothing on his wife's family! Panic over . Thanks!