urban myth?
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urban myth? - 3/14/2007 9:45:25 AM
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G.A.R.Y.
Posts: 1653
Joined: 2/18/2007
Status: offline
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IS THIS INFO ON THE CARD OR JUST GIVE ACCESS TO THE HOTEL COMPUTOR? URBAN MYTH?
Ever wonder what is 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 turn them in to the front desk your personal information is
therefore 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 elec tronically "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, esp ecially through the electronic
information strip!
Information courtesy of: Pasadena Police Department.
< Message edited by G.A.R.Y. -- 3/14/2007 11:49:36 AM >
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RE: urban myth? - 3/14/2007 11:50:47 AM
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Patrick
Posts: 407
Joined: 3/17/2005
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I, too, spent quite a bit of time living in hotel rooms for work, also paying with company info, but I always keep the credit card style keys. Just in case.
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RE: urban myth? - 3/14/2007 11:52:40 AM
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G.A.R.Y.
Posts: 1653
Joined: 2/18/2007
Status: offline
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you 2 guys weren't pimps were you?
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RE: urban myth? - 3/14/2007 11:53:23 AM
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Patrick
Posts: 407
Joined: 3/17/2005
Status: offline
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i was an auditor.
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urban myth? NO - 3/14/2007 1:18:01 PM
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Stealth
Posts: 3060
Joined: 2/18/2007
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not only is that NOT a myth but it gets better.
years back when i was living in the AA 757's, coast to coast,
and at the Hilton's in between (no, i never met the heiress) flights,
there was a big fire in Vegas. some people died because they exited
the rooms and found matters worse in the hallway, BUT
since they had left the room key behind, couldnt go back.
after that, we had training to survive hotel fires and a few things
were brought up as absolutally a must to survive:
- never, NEVER , NEVER leave your room w/o the key,
if you may find matters worse, you may need to re-enter your room,
- when you arrive at a hotel, count the doors to the fire escape,
very hard to find in the confussion and smoke,
- have a mini flashlight to find your way around, dahhh,
- if you leave your room in a fire, take a wet towel with you
to be used as a breathing filter - not great, but better than nothing.
oh .. also, in the 757's / 767's, sit by the wing (and exit door) in the airplane
in case zinizn decided to ditch the plane. it is also the seat with the large stretch
your legs space.
LIVE LONG AND Prosper ...
.
< Message edited by Stealth -- 3/14/2007 1:21:14 PM >
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