Places to Visit - Costa Blanca

 

HOTEL KEY CARDS

Hi all

Received an email from a friend with the information below, so thought it may be of interest.

Ever wondered what is on your magnetic key card?  

  The Answer is probably:

• Customer's name 
• Customer's partial home address 
• Hotel room number 
• Check-in date and out dates 
• Customer's credit card number and expiration date!  

When you turn them into 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 (Not sure about this outside UK) 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! 

If you have a small magnet, pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then try it in the door, it should not work. It erases everything on the card. 

Regards

Phil

Hi, This was a viral email sent a couple of years ago. I spend most of my weeks travelling on business and asked "my regular" concierge and he confirmed this was not the case. Most hotel companies offer "loyalty cards" and that information would be stored on the card just as it is with a Tesco Clubcard. For example, I check in at an NH Hotel in Madrid, hand over my card and they know my preferences (away from lift, extra towels etc).....but the room key doesn't hold my personal information.....it normally holds your name and room number - as it would have to when barman is swiping at the bar for a drink on your room :) Hope this helps