Hotel Key Cards (Making the rounds and TOTALLY FALSE!!)

[Guest083013]

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

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 simpl y 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 (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!

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

Information courtesy of: Metropolitan Police Service.

Grab a refrigerator magnet on your way out the door, we all have tons of them!
Always take a small magnet on your vacation, they come in handy at the end of it.

This is pretty decent info.

[Khloe Jay]

wow, I can't count how many cards I have left in the room or at the desk..thanks for the info

[oldbboy]

Originally Posted by Khloe Jay

wow, I can't count how many cards I have left in the room or at the desk..thanks for the info

Ha!!!!

[alexxxia]

Wow !!!

Great Information . . Thanks for sharing.

[WarmNCordial]

Actually if you go to the link at Snopes it points out that this isn't the case. They say they even tested many hotel cards and couldn't find any personal info on them.

[Guest083013]

tedtex ==> no one is noticing the title of this thread

NOR

the first line in the post.....


now I know what heatherone meant about guys reading the contents of advertisements......

[Whiskey-Fied]

Once had a professor who explicitly told everyone to read all the instructions before taking a quiz. Last instruction said to just sign your name, wait 30 minutes and then turn it in. Most people failed to read the instructions and got an F.

Originally Posted by dennisrn

tedtex ==> no one is noticing the title of this thread

NOR

the first line in the post.....


now I know what heatherone meant about guys reading the contents of advertisements......

[WarmNCordial]

Originally Posted by dennisrn

tedtex ==> no one is noticing the title of this thread

NOR

the first line in the post.....


now I know what heatherone meant about guys reading the contents of advertisements......

Ha! you got me there! Nothing like hiding something in plain sight!

[heatherone]

So true dennisrn......

[alexxxia]

LOL . . . I cant believe I totally missed it . . . Wow!

[lisa.lisa0302]

Well thank goodness its not true......lmao.

Though I take all my key cards with me.

[Guest101114]

I always say I lost em' and throw them away......................I should start cuttin' em' up lol