Topic: Hotel Room Keys

[|BUG| Shamu]

Not sure if the following is true or not, I suspect it is.

Well, I deleted my post content because I am also convinced the info was bogus.

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

[|BUG| The Original MacG]

According to the following, it s an urban legend...

Read this...


http://www.creditbloggers.com/2005/11/hotel_card_urba.html

Hotel card urban myth debunked
Anyone who has stayed in a hotel the past few years has dealt with those magnetic cards that have replaced room keys. About 8o% of hotels now use these magnetic cards instead of traditional keys. At the same time, an urban legend was brewing that said the cards contained information about the guest's credit cards and more. From the New York Times:

For several years, rumors have circulated on the Internet about privacy concerns with magnetic cards. The rumors appeared to originate in 1999, when the police department in Pasadena, Calif., investigated a claim that personal information had been extracted from a hotel key card. Officials ultimately concluded that private data was not being downloaded onto the cards.

While there have been occasional instances of hotels putting sensitive information on these cards, overall its an urban legend. The American Hotel and Lodging Association has even issued a press release debunking the key card rumors.

Still, it makes sense to guard these cards when you are traveling. Just like a standard key, you wouldn't want it to fall into the hands of a criminal. More importantly, you should guard against identity theft by keeping your credit cards and other sensitive documents locked in your hotel room safe when you are out and about. Click here to read more tips about preventing identity theft while traveling.

And this

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000436/4025255.html

11 November 2005

The Lodging Industry Addresses Identity Theft Urban Legend


Washington -- Due to the lodging industry’s heightened sensitivity for the personal security of guests, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is debunking the urban legend myth that magnetic-strip hotel room key cards contain guests’ personal information.



While many members of the lodging industry employ magnetic-strip hotel room key cards, they do not supply a guests’ personal information such as credit card numbers, home address, or e-mail addresses.

According to the manufacturers of these devices, room key cards capture information through three embedded and encrypted tracks. Most hoteliers use track “three,” which contains locked information that usually lists the guest’s room number and check in/out dates. The remaining tracks (“one” and “two”) — if supplied by the hotel’s property management system - also provides additional, limited guest information.

“The issue of identity theft is a public concern that is reported to affect many Americans,” said AH&LA President and CEO Joseph A. McInerney. “We’re doing everything in our power to inform guests that this is a myth and that this is not in anyway, affecting their personal safety.”


AH&LA is a 95-year-old dual membership association of state and city partner lodging associations throughout the United States with some 10,000 members nationwide, representing more than 1.3 million guest rooms. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it provides members with advocacy on Capitol Hill, public relations and image management, education, research and information, and other services to ensure a positive business climate for the U.S. lodging industry. Individual state associations provide representation at the state level and offer many additional cost-saving benefits.

[|BUG| Desert Eagle]

I never turn in my "plastic keys" anyways.  Have a pile of them in my desk drawer at home.

[|BUG| Cobra_9]

Whether or not it is true about the information, I found out by accident at the beach last year  when we put our "key" in a plastic bag in our beach cooler, it wouldn't work in the door.....even after it warmed up in my pocket. Had to get another key. How the cold affected it I don't know. Perhaps a cheap de-magnetizer before checking out would make wary people feel a little safer just to be sure.

[|BUG| Hutler]

you can wipe em by keepin em with your credit cards...apparently..

I was just working in a big hotel in London. the receptionist told a guest that he shouldnt keep them together.

Its always worth keeping them to chop up your lines of coke. it stops you spoiling your credit cards!

 

Hut

[|BUG| Torlog]

Also keeping them close to your cell phone will wipe them. I had a friend that it happened to twice the other day.
|BUG|Torlog

[Beckett]

Its always worth keeping them to chop up your lines of coke. it stops you spoiling your credit cards!
Hut

I drink my coke... is there something here i dont know about or am i the odd guy out again.. geeeze always the last to know.. lol

beckett