TECH TALK

Have you stayed in a Starwood or Marriott hotel? You could be a victim of a data breach which affected 500 million people. Marriott has claimed the chains affected are:

Aloft, Design Hotels, Element, Four Points by Sheraton, Le Méridien, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, St. Regis, Tribute Portfolio, W Hotels, Westin

The hackers gained access to the guest reservation database. Hackers obtained the full name, address, phone number, email address, passport number and date of birth of guests who booked reservations on or before September 10, 2018.

Security experts determined there had been unauthorized system access since 2014. That is why anyone who has stayed at a Marriott or Starwood property needs to be on guard.

What should you do?

Change your Marriott/Starwood Password. If you use that password anywhere else, change it there, too. When hackers and the dark web get their claws on login credentials for one site they try them everywhere. Consider enabling two-factor authentication on your banking and email accounts for added security.

Monitor your credit and bank accounts. Look for anything suspicious. You get one free credit report per year through www.annualcreditreport.com. There are many sites which offer credit report access, but this is the only site authorized by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Consider freezing your credit. October

18. I shared information about credit freezing to prevent scammers from opening new accounts in your name. The contact numbers for those agencies are: Equifax: 1-800-685-1111; TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872; and Experian: 1-888-397-3742.

Be wary of your inbox. Marriott or Star-wood may reach out. However, now you’re a prime target for phishing scams pretending to be them. Remember, do not provide any personal information via email.