[BITList] very useful info

[KENNETH567 at aol.com]

This  is pretty good info. Never even thought about key cards containing  
anything other than an access code for the room!  

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 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:   Police  Service.

PLEASE FORWARD to friends and family  










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