New Hacking Scheme Targets Hotel Switchboards

Rhode Island attorney general Peter F. Kilmartin is warning hotels of a new scheme in which hackers infiltrate hotel switchboards to dial guests directly and request their credit card information. They tell each guest that the hotel’s computer system lost their credit card information so they need to re-enter the card number. To entice the traveler, they offer a substantial discount because of the “inconvenience.”

 

“It’s really disturbing how far some people will go to steal from us,” says attorney general Kilmartin. “This new scam seeks to exploit people who save for a vacation and don’t want to give their money away. The polite voice offering a 40% or 50% discount along with a phony apology for any inconvenience only increases the chance that an honest traveler may fall victim to this deceit.”