Kimpton Hotel Guests Fall Victim to Credit Card Theft

The hospitality chain has announced that credit card data from guests has been stolen due to malware on their payment terminals.

Kimpton Hotels has the latest victim of credit and debit card data theft. KrebsOnSecurity reports that the hospitality chain has officially acknowledged that malware found on payment terminals in many of its hotels and restaurants may have compromised the credit/debit cards of guests who visited the properties in the first semester of 2016.

According to the company, the incident involved credit cards that were used at restaurants and hotels from February 16 to July 7. Kimpton Hotels has posted a list on their website of 60 establishments where the malware was found and removed from payment terminals.

This is not the first time that malicious software has done this kind of damage. The list of victims of this kind of scam includes Trump Hotels, Mandarin, Hilton, Hyatt and Starwood Hotels – to mention a few.

“The malware usually is installed via hacked remote administration tools. Once the attackers have their malware loaded onto the point-of-sale devices, they can remotely capture data from each card swiped at that cash register,” the security website reported.

Once in possession of that data, thieves can sell it to the highest bidder, who then encode the stolen information onto any card with a magnetic strip and use it in big stores like Target and Best Buy.

KrebsOnSecurity advises that the best way to avoid getting scammed is to always keep an eye on your bank account and credit card statement. While the owner of the stolen data is not liable for any fraudulent charges, they still need to report any unauthorized transactions.

[Photo: Kimpton Hotels]