[NSRCA-discussion] Fw: Hotel Keys- interesting

[JEREMY CHINN]

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


From: billglaze at bellsouth.net
To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 09:44:16 -0400
Subject: [NSRCA-discussion] Fw: Hotel Keys- interesting




I'm forwarding this because we stay in motels/hotels so often at contests.  Has anybody heard of this, or is it another one of these "The sky is falling" things so prevalent on the internet?
Bill Glaze  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ann Meng 
To: billglaze at bellsouth.net ; cathyinlakebluff at sbcglobal.net ; rcjustice2000 at yahoo.com ; n.meng at insightbb.com ; smeng at kih.net 
Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 5:20 PM
Subject: FW: Hotel Keys- interesting

  

--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: herbcollett at hotmail.com
Subject: FW: Hotel Keys- interesting
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 07:51:52 -0500




 
 
  












 





Subject: re: Hotel Keys - interesting

 

 I didn’t know this – but I’ll never return one of those card keys to the front desk again.
 

           Good information for those that travel if you don't already know.
                                  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 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
 re-issues 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 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, especially through 
the
  electronic information strip!
 
        You can also use a small magnet and pass it across the magnetic
   strip several times. Then try it in the door, if it does not work it 
erases
   everything on the card.
 
          Information courtesy of:  Pasadena Police Department
 
                    PLEASE FORWARD to friends and family.

 



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