Argonne travelers who have stayed at Marriott and Starwood hotels should monitor their accounts and credit card accounts for suspicious activity after a breach of the chains’ guest reservations database.
The private information of up to 500 million Marriott and Starwood Hotel guest accounts may have been illegally accessed as part of the breach, potentially one of the largest breaches of consumer data ever. NBC News has a detailed account of the breach.
Marriott has created a website with FAQs and information for consumers who believe their information may have been part of the breach.
Concerned travelers may wish to take the following precautions:
- Members enrolled in the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program should monitor their accounts for any suspicious activity.
- Change your password regularly. Do not use easily guessed passwords. Do not use the same passwords for multiple accounts.
- Review your payment card account statements and immediately report unauthorized activity to the bank that issued your card.
- Be vigilant against third parties attempting to gather information by deception (commonly known as “phishing”), including through links to fake websites. Marriott will not ask you to provide your password by phone or email.
- If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or your personal data has been misused, you should immediately contact your national data protection authority or local law enforcement.
For more information, call Marriott’s dedicated consumer call line at 877-273-9481.
