[Nfbf-l] Hotel Room Keys Are A Security Leak

[MisterAdvocate at aol.com]

Subject: FW:  Good info..


 

 
 
  
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Always  take a small magnet on your holiday, it'll  come in handy at the 
end of it!!

This is  good info. Never thought about key cards  containing anything 
other than an access code  for the room!  Read  on......  

HOTEL KEY  CARDS 

Know  what's on your magnetic key  card? 

Answer: 
a.  Customer's  name 
B.  Customer's partial home  address 
c. Hotel  room number 
d.  Check-in date and out  dates 
e. Customer's  credit card number and expiration  date! 

When you  return it 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 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 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 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 into 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 card scanning/reader device  .. 

For the  same reason, if you arrive at the airport and  discover you still 
have the card key in your  pocket, don't toss it in an airport bin; take it  
home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially  through the electronic 
information  strip! 

Alternatively  if you have a small magnet, pass it across the  magnetic 
strip several times when you leave your  room for the last time before checking 
 out; now try it in the door, it should  not work. It erases everything on 
the  card. 

Information  courtesy of:  Metropolitan Police  Service.

PLEASE  FORWARD to friends and  family