First, it was major retailers. Now, it's a small group of hotels dealing with a suspected data breach. Before you get nervous, read this entire article.
The latest possible data breach involves an independent hotel management company called White Lodging Services Corporation.
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That company runs several hotels around the country under brand names like Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, and Renaissance. White Lodging Services released a statement that says the suspected breach happened between March 20th and December 16th of last year. For the most part, it affected the point of sales systems in the hotel bars and lounges. It said there was one property where the point of sale system and property management system used at the front desk may have been affected.
White Lodging Services provided this list of 14 hotels affected by the breach:
Marriott Midway, Chicago, IL
Holiday Inn Midway, Chicago, IL
Holiday Inn Austin Northwest, Austin, TX
Sheraton Erie Bayfront, Erie, PA
Westin Austin at the Domain, Austin, TX
Marriott Boulder, Boulder, CO
Marriott Denver South, Denver, CO
Marriott Austin South, Austin, TX
Marriott Indianapolis Downtown, Indianapolis, IN
Marriott Richmond Downtown, Richmond, VA
Marriott Louisville Downtown, Louisville KY
Renaissance Plantation, Plantation, FL
Renaissance Broomfield Flatiron, Broomfield, CO
Radisson Star Plaza, Merrillville, IN
If you think you may have been affected, you should do the same thing customers of Target have been doing after the recent, well-publicized data breach that hit the store right at the beginning of the busy holiday shopping season.
1) Review your credit card statements for any suspicious charges.
2) If you used a debit card at one of the affected establishments, you might want to ask for a new card.
3) Check your credit report at least once a year, with an eye to spotting any accounts you have not authorized.