Another day, another breach. Only this time it involves Marriott, a company that claims to live by the Golden Rule and have clear communication with its customers.
One very surprising fact is that their reservation system was being hacked over a lengthy period of 4 years, exposing data on 500 million guests. Marriott claims it is unclear what data was actually stolen, but can range anywhere from credit card information, and passport data to names, addresses, and phones numbers.
How can you protect yourself?
Marriott has partnered with a firm called Kroll to provide customers with a product called ‘WebWatcher’. Follow the above link to read mor about this. It is available to anyone who had a Starwood reservation.
According to Kroll, WebWatcher offers:
A monitoring of internet sites where personal information is shared and generates an alert if evidence of your personal information is found. Due to regulatory and other reasons, WebWatcher or similar products are not available in all countries.
For residents of the United States, enrolling in WebWatcher also provides you with two additional benefits: (1) a Fraud Loss Reimbursement benefit, which reimburses you for out-of-pocket expenses totaling up to $1 million in covered legal costs and expenses for any one stolen identity event. All coverage is subject to the conditions and exclusions in the policy; and (2) unlimited access to consultation with a Kroll fraud specialist. Consultation support includes showing you the most effective ways to protect your identity, explaining your rights and protections under the law, assistance with fraud alerts, and interpreting how personal information is accessed and used, including investigating suspicious activity that could be tied to an identity theft event.
Identity protection, such as LifeLock, can also help stop any subsequent issues that can arise from such unfortunate data breaches, which seem to be happening all too often these days.
Simple steps such as monitoring your credit or changing your passwords can go a long way in the never ending journey to stay safe in the online world we live in.
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Brand: Marriott
