Super 8 credit card receipts found in landfill
Technorati Tag: Security Breach
Date Reported:
3/24/08
Organization:
Wyndham Hotel Group
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
Super 8 Worldwide, Inc.
The Super 8 Motel of Lamar
Victims:
Customers
Number Affected:
Unknown
Types of Data:
Names, credit card account numbers, expiration dates, addresses, and signatures
Breach Description:
"Bundles of credit card receipts from a Super 8 Motel in Lamar were discovered in Lamar's landfill, complete with account numbers, names, addresses and signatures."
Reference URL:
KKTV Channel 11 News
Report Credit:
Rosie Barresi, KKTV Channel 11 News
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Bundles of credit card receipts from a Super 8 Motel in Lamar were discovered in Lamar's landfill, complete with account numbers, names, addresses and signatures.
The receipts have everything a crook needs to charge thousands of dollars onto someone's credit card.
[Evan] I don't think that these are the same receipts that get handed back to a customer, these are back office receipts. I remember when all customer credit card receipts had account numbers printed on them. Some time ago this practice was largely stopped and now we only see a masked, partial account numbers. I am still in the habit of checking my receipt every time I purchase something though.
Nina Kinney lives in Pueblo. She and her husband stayed at the Super 8 Motel in Pueblo a couple of years ago. Their names and address was among the pile, but not their credit card information because they paid cash.
[Evan] A lot of times a credit card is required for reservations even if you wanted to pay cash.
Jane Lupp, Super 8 Motel Clerk said, "All of our receipts are sent to the owner in Canon City," Lupp also told 11 News.
[Evan] I think Super 8 headquarters is in Parsippany, N.J., so this Lamar hotel is probably a franchise.
Lupp says those receipts come back to Lamar and go straight into storage.
"They were cleaning out that storage the other day and those are not the boxes that should have gone into the trash. Evidently one got in there," said Lupp.
But it wasn't just one box, there were at least three of them.
"I'm sure it was accidental," said Lupp.
Lupp says, normally they shred all old receipts. "I don't know how it happened. We will certainly make sure it doesn't happen again," said Lupp.
The receipts were discovered by a Lamar man who turned them over to 11 News.
If you've stayed at Lamar's Super 8 Motel in the last few years, you may want to change your credit card number.
Customer Reaction:
"We expect them to handle that safely and with proper manor. It's upsetting and disappointing,"
"It's kind of hard to believe that it was just an accident,"
Commentary:
I'm sure that this type of breach happens more often than we would like to admit. Not just at Super 8, but retail in general.
Past Breaches:
Unknown
Date Reported:3/24/08
Organization:
Wyndham Hotel Group
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
Super 8 Worldwide, Inc.
The Super 8 Motel of Lamar
Victims:
Customers
Number Affected:
Unknown
Types of Data:
Names, credit card account numbers, expiration dates, addresses, and signatures
Breach Description:
"Bundles of credit card receipts from a Super 8 Motel in Lamar were discovered in Lamar's landfill, complete with account numbers, names, addresses and signatures."
Reference URL:
KKTV Channel 11 News
Report Credit:
Rosie Barresi, KKTV Channel 11 News
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Bundles of credit card receipts from a Super 8 Motel in Lamar were discovered in Lamar's landfill, complete with account numbers, names, addresses and signatures.
The receipts have everything a crook needs to charge thousands of dollars onto someone's credit card.
[Evan] I don't think that these are the same receipts that get handed back to a customer, these are back office receipts. I remember when all customer credit card receipts had account numbers printed on them. Some time ago this practice was largely stopped and now we only see a masked, partial account numbers. I am still in the habit of checking my receipt every time I purchase something though.
Nina Kinney lives in Pueblo. She and her husband stayed at the Super 8 Motel in Pueblo a couple of years ago. Their names and address was among the pile, but not their credit card information because they paid cash.
[Evan] A lot of times a credit card is required for reservations even if you wanted to pay cash.
Jane Lupp, Super 8 Motel Clerk said, "All of our receipts are sent to the owner in Canon City," Lupp also told 11 News.
[Evan] I think Super 8 headquarters is in Parsippany, N.J., so this Lamar hotel is probably a franchise.
Lupp says those receipts come back to Lamar and go straight into storage.
"They were cleaning out that storage the other day and those are not the boxes that should have gone into the trash. Evidently one got in there," said Lupp.
But it wasn't just one box, there were at least three of them.
"I'm sure it was accidental," said Lupp.
Lupp says, normally they shred all old receipts. "I don't know how it happened. We will certainly make sure it doesn't happen again," said Lupp.
The receipts were discovered by a Lamar man who turned them over to 11 News.
If you've stayed at Lamar's Super 8 Motel in the last few years, you may want to change your credit card number.
Customer Reaction:
"We expect them to handle that safely and with proper manor. It's upsetting and disappointing,"
"It's kind of hard to believe that it was just an accident,"
Commentary:
I'm sure that this type of breach happens more often than we would like to admit. Not just at Super 8, but retail in general.
Past Breaches:
Unknown
Posted by Evan Francen at 3/26/2008 10:41 AM 
Categories: Super 8 Worldwide, Wyndham Hotel Group, Insecure Discard
Categories: Super 8 Worldwide, Wyndham Hotel Group, Insecure Discard
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