Its Official# Potential for Identity Theft

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Mr. BAW

ONE love, blood, life
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Life's too short to drink cheap wine!
I just learned the following information from genuine sources.

In an effort to detect new threats to personal security issues, investigators recently uncovered what type of information is embedded in the credit card type hotel room keys; these keys may differ from Hotel to Hotel but several popular named-venues were identified.

Your plastic hotel room key has a black magnetic strip that contains:

Customer's name
Customer's partial home address
Hotel room number
Check in and check out date
Customer's credit card number and expiration date

How often do we merely leave the hotel room key laying on the dresser? how often do were just turn the key in to the front desk and the clerk grabs it? Turns out that these plastic cards are RARELY CLEARED; the information is erased when it is being prepared for the next customer!

Investigators and Hotel Security recommend that you RETAIN these plastic keys and DESTROY them as soon as possible.


Your friend,

Mr. BAW
 
good thing my room key from my visit to the excalibur a few weeks ago
is safely tucked into my wallet where it belongs.

:heart: souvenirs
 
That happened to me once.Identity theft.

NEVER leave your paid bills in the mail box overnight for the next day pickup.

Thiefs will steal your mail, checking account #,
your signature and identity.

They made deposits to my account then took cash back on stolen checks using my account number and signature.

:mad:
 
Angela Harlem said:
Dont hotels ask for the key back when you check out?
I dont travel much, can you tell?
:shifty:

Most hotels would ask for the return of an actual KEY but I estimate that 98% now use the electronic swipe card for entrance to a room.

These same hotels offer Video Check out on the their TV set; you have the option of dropping off their cards in the "Express Check-Out" (yeah, like I'll use that again) or you can just leave your cards on the dresser "for the maid".

With all your worldly information on that magnetic strip, I'm not leaving that card anywhere...and another thing, how many of us check in to a hotel and ask for 2 cards, then we end up leaving one in the room while we're out...

Hold on to that swipe card! :up:
 
I hardly ever travel. But I do stay at a hotel in a small town sometimes to cut down on hours spent in a car on the way to a medieval re-enactment event. I never knew that stuff was on my key! Holy smokes, I don't want to get ripped off like that.
 
i'll just um...let someone else...book the room from now on when i travel.
 
That's what I meant by swipe card. I stayed in a hotel a few years ago which had the swipe card and they asked for it on check out. We emptied the mini bar so we owed them money at the end which we had to fix up. I saw them delete all info on this swipey thingy though so I doubt anyone stole my ID.
:slant:

I hope...!
 
True Angie! but I've seen them erasing the card when I obtain a room so those cards are just lying around until the next client/customer shows up....in the meantime, maids/drivers/custodians, anyone has potential access to all that information.

:down: to unscrupulous hotel employees!!!
 
Yes :down: to them!
I guess if they ever get cranky and ask for the card, just make a huge fuss and say "please wipe my info off this. I will wait while you do it"
Then stand there staring at them.
:up: to making people uncomfortable :lol:


:shifty:
 
I have my fake ID just for occasions like that!


Sven never has to worry about his hotel cards
 
Anytime we get one of those cards we always give it back when we are leaving - if you dont leave it back your charged or something :shrug:
 
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