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Hotel key cards look harmless enough, but they can hold a lot of sensitive personal information. And, according to leading ID fraud expert, Equifax, hotel key cards could present a serious ID fraud risk to holidaymakers as we head into the holiday season.
The card is key
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 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.
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.
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 in the airport rubbish bin!
How to avoid the key card scam:
• 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
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