Hotel Fraud May Compromise Credit Card Customers

Credit card customers were left wondering whether their details had been snatched by hackers recently after a US hotel chain conceded it may have been affected by a security breach.

The global hotel company revealed that in the US and Canada its computer systems had been "accessed without authorisation".

A representative said: "Contact the bank that issued your credit card right away and let them know of the fraudulent charges," the firm advised worried holidaymakers.

"They will provide you with instructions on how to dispute the charges so that you are not responsible for paying them if they were in fact unauthorised."

However, the hotel giant could not reassure customers that it was certain their card numbers and security details had not been used by fraudsters and said it was working with police to get to the bottom of the breach.

Customers were urged to scan their credit card history for suspicious items and were reminded that credit card details can be used to exact other types of crime, such as identity fraud.

It is still unknown who is behind the breaches and what the hackers were seeking.

The chief operating officer for the chain explained that potentially hackers could have pulled information off the firm's database such as their name, debit or credit card numbers and their expiration dates a common security question.

He added: "We value guest privacy and deeply regrets this incident occurred.”

"Working with law enforcement and forensic investigators, we are conducting a thorough review of the affected computer systems."

The company has now implemented extended security measures to ensure that hackers would not be able to penetrate its systems again.

We are in desperate times at the moment and in times of desperation people will do anything to get hold of credit. If you are a consumer and you haven’t recently checked your credit reference, go and have a look at it just to make sure there is not anyone out there making fraudulent applications on your behalf.

If you would like to know more about fraud why not ask AnswerBank Law.