White Lodging Services Corporation has announced the suspected breach of credit card use for the point of sales systems at 10 major US hotels, specifically in the food and beverage outlets from the period July 3, 2014 through to February 6, 2015.
Upon learning of this security breach, White Lodging Services, an independent hotel management company, contacted the federal law enforcement officials they are now conducting a forensic review. White Lodging is offering one year of complimentary fraud resolution and identity protection services, to all affected cardholders and additional information is on the company’s website at www.whitelodging.com.
The data at risk is believed to be limited to names printed on customers’ credit or debit cards, credit or debit card numbers, the security code and card expiration dates. Guests who used or visited the affected food and beverage outlets during the seven month-period and who used a credit or debit card to pay their bills at the outlets, might have had such information compromised and are encouraged to review their statements from that time period.
The food and beverage outlets affected are located at:
- Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis, IN
- Chicago Marriott Midway Airport, Chicago, IL
- Auburn Hills Marriott Pontiac at Centerpoint, Pontiac, MI
- Austin Marriott South Airport, Austin, TX
- Boulder Marriott, Boulder, CO
- Denver Marriott South at Park Meadows, Denver, CO
- Louisville Marriott Downtown, Louisville, KY
- Renaissance Boulder Flatiron, Broomfield, CO
- Courtyard Austin Downtown, Austin, TX
- Sheraton Hotel Erie Bayfront, Erie, PA
Security measures now in place
Guests at these hotels who did not use their credit card at these outlets, and guests who charged to their room account at these outlets, are not believed to be affected.
White Lodging president and CEO, Hospitality Management, Dave Sibley said: “After suffering a malware incident in 2014, we took various actions to prevent a recurrence, including engaging a third party security firm to provide security technology and managed services.
“These security measures were unable to stop the current malware occurrence on point of sale systems at food and beverage outlets in 10 hotels that we manage. We continue to remain committed to investing in the measures necessary to protect the personal information entrusted to us by our valuable guests. We deeply regret and apologise for this situation.”
Sibley advised that potentially impacted guests should also consider placing a fraud alert on their credit files. An initial fraud alert, which lasts for 90 days, requires potential creditors to use reasonable policies and procedures to verify a customer’s identity before issuing credit in his/her name. To place an alert, calls can be made to anyone of the following three credit reporting agencies: Experian (888) 397-3742; Equifax (800) 525-6285; or TransUnion (800) 680-7289.
For more information go to www.whitelodging.com.
