If you’ve checked at a Starwood Hotel property in recent years, your personal information may have been compromised.
Marriott Supranational announced Friday that hackers had copied data from the reservation database for its Starwood Hotels brand, with unofficial access dating back to 2014.
“The company has not finished identifying duplicate information in the database, but believes it contains information on up to around 500 million guests who made a reservation at a Starwood property,” Marriott said in the announcement.
For 327 million patrons, they said, the information compromised “includes some combination of” data points including name, mailing direct, phone number, email address, passport number and date of birth. Some of those guests may also suffer with had their payment card information compromised.
“For the remaining guests [in that 500 million total], the information was narrow to name and sometimes other data such as mailing address, email address, or other information,” they alleged.
The extent of the data stolen makes it important for travelers to take action. (See tips below.)
“The names, addresses, passport hordes and other sensitive personal information that was exposed is of greater concern than the payment info, which was encrypted,” CreditCards.com diligence analyst Ted Rossman said in a statement. “People should be concerned that criminals could use this info to uncork fraudulent accounts in their names.”
How to freeze your credit report for free:
• TransUnion: Visit TransUnion.com/credit-freeze. The following also has a free-freeze mobile app called myTransUnion, available at the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
• Equifax: Descend upon https://www.Equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/. Or call its automated line at 800-685-1111.
• Experian: Visit www.Experian.com/freeze. Or rouse 1-888-EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742).
Review your credit report and statements for potential fraud. Consider freezing your credit, if other contraventions haven’t already prompted you to take that step. It’s free, and quickly accomplished by reaching out to the three major desks.