HOTELS IN 10 STATES AND DC MAY HAVE BEEN HACKED

An undisclosed number of people who used credit cards at 20 Hyatt, Sheraton, Marriott, Westin and other hotels in 10 states and the District of Columbia may have had their cards compromised through a hack of the hotels’ payment system.

HEI Hotels & Resorts, which operates just under 60 hotels and resorts under a variety of brands, said that after being notified by its credit card processor of a potential breach, it conducted an internal investigation that found malware on its payment processing systems at the 20 properties. The malware was designed to capture debit and credit card information such as names, card account numbers, card expiration dates and verification codes as it flowed through the systems.

The hack potentially affected cards used at point of sale terminals, such as those at the hotels’ restaurants and stores, between December 2015 and June 2016. A few of the affected hotels were found to have been infected with the malware as early as March 2015.

HEI advised anyone who used a card at the hotels in question during the given time frame to review their account statements and look for discrepancies or unusual activity, both over the past several months and going forward. Customers who notice anything out of place should contact their card issuer. As with any breach, consumers are not liable for fraudulent charges on their credit cards.