You Stayed At A Starwood Hotel? Tips On Data Breach
Marriott data breach
If you stayed at one of Marriott's Starwood hotels in recent years, hackers might have information on your address, credit card and even your passport. Some of this can be used for identity theft, as hackers create bank and other accounts under your name.
Marriott says the breach affected about 500 million guests, though it's possible the records could include a single person who booked multiple stays. Marriott says the unauthorized access had been taking place since 2014 and was only recently discovered. It's possible the data include hotel stays going further back.
How can you tell if you've been affected, and what can you do if you are?
Here are some things to know:
The scope
The breach affects only the hotel brands operated by Starwood before Marriott bought it in 2016.
The brands include W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton, Westin, Element, Aloft, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien and Four Points. Starwood-branded timeshare properties are also affected. Marriott-branded chains aren't affected, as data on those stays are on a different network.
Marriott says the breach affected reservations at Starwood properties through Sept. 10, 2018. That could include reservations made for a future stay.
Am I affected?
Marriott says it began sending emails to affected guests on Friday.
Be careful, though, when you receive an email about this breach, as hackers may be using the incident to dupe you into providing passwords or installing malicious software.
If you get such an email, it's best to go directly to a website Marriott has set up on this breach: https://answers.kroll.com . There, you can find phone numbers to call.
