Electronic hotel key cards

[evad54]

> Electronic hotel key cards
>
>
>
>
> 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 r ewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in
a
>drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!
>
>
>
> The bottom line is:
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>
>
> 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
> (i t'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.
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>
>
> Information courtesy of: Pasadena Police Department