Tag Archives: Crime

by | July 25, 2011 · 10:29 am

Hospitality Industry Cybercrime Risks: Hotel Management Must Insure Against "Illegal Use" Of Internet Access By Individuals Engaging In "Online Piracy"

“Small businesses that offer Internet access, such as a coffee shop or a hotel or even a car mechanic with a waiting area, should be aware of the industry’s crackdown on piracy and take steps to ensure their customers aren’t using the service to steal content,”

 “…people don’t want to pirate music from home because they’re afraid of getting caught, so they’ll use the WiFi connection of a (outside business)…”

The National Federation of Independent Business, a non-profit small-business association, issued a warning to Main Street entrepreneurs who offer Internet access to their customers: Take steps now to avoid allegations of online piracy. Record labels, movie studios and other industry groups recently struck a deal where participating Internet providers will issue warnings to customers whose accounts are allegedly used to steal content.

Under the deal, customers whose accounts are allegedly used for piracy will receive at least five alerts from their Internet provider. Upon sending the fifth notice, the Internet provider may implement certain “mitigation measures” to stop the alleged piracy, including reducing Internet speeds or redirecting traffic to a special landing page until the customer contacts the Internet provider to discuss the issue.

“Internet service providers wouldn’t have to pull the plug on a customer after the sixth notice, but that’s a possibility, and that’s where businesses have to watch out,” said Beth Milito, senior executive counsel for the NFIB. “Small businesses rely on their Internet connections the same way they do the telephone. It’s how they communicate with customers and vendors. It’s where they do business.”

  • One easy way to discourage abuse for businesses offering WiFi is to prevent people who aren’t customers from using their Internet connection by requiring a password. “For example, they could print a password on the receipt and change it periodically, to prevent non-customers from using the service,” Milito said.
  • Businesses can also block access to certain Websites and types of Websites, she added. “This requires a little bit of know-how on the part of the small-business owner, and it may accidentally block access to legitimate Websites, but it also can discourage people from using a business’s network to steal content,” she said. “With more and more people carrying smartphones and even tablets, free WiFi can help a small business attract and keep customers, but unless a business owner uses commonsense and takes precautions, those customers could come at a hefty price.”

For more:  http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/Security-an-Issue-for-Businesses-Offering-Free-WiFi-253920/

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by | June 30, 2011 · 8:16 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: New York Hotel Has Valuable Painting Stolen From Lobby As "Surveillance System" Identifies Man Walking Out With Covered Object

“…A video surveillance shows a man walking into the swanky building then coming out a short time later with a bag not visible in the first clip”…

An art thief made off with a painting worth a reported $350,000 from the Upper East Side’s posh Carlyle Hotel early Tuesday morning. The Fernand Leger painting, which went missing from the lobby hallway, was on loan from the Helly Nahmad Gallery located inside the hotel’s swanky Madison Avenue building.

“The Carlyle’s security personnel reported the painting missing at 3:30 a.m. to the 19th Precinct as well as the gallery owner,” a hotel spokeswoman said. “A complete investigation is now in process.”

The 1917 ink-on-linen by Leger — a French artist who was part of the Cubism movement — was apparently only 10-inches-by-8-inches. The Madison Avenue landmark, a favorite for presidents and prime ministers, boasts of itself as “a showcase great art, a purveyor of privacy and a sanctuary of luxury and refined taste,” on its website.

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20110629/upper-east-side/art-thief-swipes-fernand-leger-painting-at-carlyle-hotel#ixzz1QmBxtyM0

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by | June 24, 2011 · 4:35 pm

Hospitality Industry Credit Card Risks: Man Who Stole Texas Hotel Guests' "Credit Card Receipts" And "Manufactured Counterfeit Cards" To Purchase Merchandise Sentenced To Five Years In Prison

“…Authorities said Jones and another man, Randy Ray Flaharty, 31, took boxes of monthly credit card receipts of hotel guests from a storage room…”

“…The receipts, officials say, were used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards in document “boiler rooms” and card “chop shops,” which they then used to buy $300,000 worth of merchandise in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana...”

“…The cardholders never realized their credit card accounts had been compromised until months, even years, after they stayed at the hotel. But the damage made it hard for some of them to get loans and left lingering headaches in trying to straighten things out, officials said…”

A San Antonio man was sentenced Friday to more than five years in federal prison for stealing thousands of credit card receipts from the Emily Morgan Hotel. The theft allowed conspirators to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise in three states, authorities say.

Cody Quincy Jones, 34, pleaded guilty in April to ID theft fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated ID theft. Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery gave him 41 months for the ID theft fraud charge and 41 months for the access device count, to run concurrently. The judge imposed 24 months on the aggravated ID theft charge, to run consecutively.

The merchandise, which included trailers, televisions, all-terrain vehicles and tires, then was resold or pawned.

The hotel didn’t learn of the thefts until August 2008, and since then, a Secret Service-led task force has ascertained it was San Antonio’s largest identity theft case, with at least 17,000 receipts stolen.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Conspirator-in-record-setting-I-D-theft-sentenced-1439169.php#ixzz1QF7XXhYu

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by | June 12, 2011 · 6:24 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Security: Texas Hotel Management Faces Questions On How A Man Stole A "Master Key" And Entered A Guest Room Before Assaulting Guests

“What shocks me most … This guy had a master key and just walked right into the kids’ room high and started swinging at them,” Hernandez said. “Thankfully the kids were screaming and (coach Joseph) Rosendo was nearby to help.”

Attempts to contact Clarion management for a comment on how they lost a master key and the attack itself were unsuccessful Saturday. Hernandez said at least it wasn’t the hotel room with his female athletes.

The coach of the Lubbock Warriors spoke out, voicing many concerns about the hotel’s security and the legal system after his squad was attacked early Friday morning, hours before a boxing competition.

Nicodemus Alvarado, 18, allegedly attacked members of the team while he was drunk and high on cocaine after using a stolen master key to gain entry into their hotel room at the Clarion on the 4300 block of West Wall Street about 12:20 a.m. Friday, police said.

Besides issues with the hotel’s security, Hernandez also raised questions about the legal system in general after he learned of Alvarado’s past.

Alvarado was arrested less than three months ago during an unrelated incident on the exact same charges: First-degree felony for burglary of habitat with intent to commit another felony and for possession of a controlled substance.

He was arrested for the first set of felonies following a March attack on a woman. He allegedly pushed his way into her residence and began assaulting her after he disconnected her emergency call to police, according to the March arrest affidavits.

Despite his $56,000 bond, Alvarado eventually was released from the county lockup. According to clerk of court records, Alvarado was only adjudicated for the misdemeanor charge of interfering with an emergency call during the March 6 incident. It was not known, as of press time Saturday evening, under what circumstances the felony charges were dropped or dismissed

Read more: Coach criticizes hotel, legal system after attack – Mywesttexas.com: Top Stories http://www.mywesttexas.com/top_stories/article_90772213-c4f4-5716-994b-a4279a012afb.html#ixzz1P4TArI00

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by | June 2, 2011 · 7:55 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Security: New York Hotel Suspends Supervisor For Failing To Report "Sexual Assault" On Housekeeper In Timely Manner

“…Authorities say the businessman, who is in his 70s, attacked a maid at The Pierre hotel…The hotel… suspended the supervisor of housekeeping for not reporting the alleged assault…”

The maid told her superiors that she was assaulted that night, but they said it was best to wait until the following morning to report it to the security director, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The director called police Monday morning.

A businessman and former chairman of a major Egyptian bank charged with sexually abusing a housekeeper at a luxury Manhattan hotel is being held on $25,000 bail and has been ordered to hand over his passport because he is considered a flight risk. Omar was arraigned on two counts of sexual abuse and forcible touching.

Authorities say the maid was called to Omar’s room Sunday evening to drop off tissues. District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said that when the victim entered the room, the defendant grabbed her in a bear hug and her kissed her on the lips and neck and told her repeatedly that he liked her, before grabbing her breasts.

The prosecutor said that as the maid tried to get away, he grabbed her in a second bear hug, grinding his groin against her leg. She broke away again, and the prosecutor said the defendant then squeezed her buttocks.

Pierre spokeswoman Nora Walsh said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the supervisor of housekeeping was suspended pending an investigation.

For more:  http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1615690

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by | May 26, 2011 · 9:21 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Safety Risks: Hotel Housekeepers And Staff May Wear "Electronic Panic Buttons" To Protect Against Assault If New York Legislation Is Passed

“New York hotel workers would have electronic “panic buttons” under a new bill proposed after then-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid…”

“…Hotel workers needing urgent help could use the panic buttons to contact the hotel’s front desk or its security, then police could be called if necessary…”

“…assaults may be undercounted, experts say, since workers may fear being sacked and employers, mindful of insurance, might not want to report assaults that are not severe….”

 Assemblyman Lancman, who chairs the Assembly’s subcommittee on workplace safety, said attacks on hotel maids and housekeepers were relatively common although he had no data to support that.

In 2009, 100 hotel maids were assaulted—70 by people, 30 by animals—according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But assaults may be undercounted, experts say, since workers may fear being sacked and employers, mindful of insurance, might not want to report assaults that are not severe. 

Hotel companies are examining security protocols following the incident, industry executives said on Tuesday.

 For more:  http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20110525/NEWS01/110529923

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by | May 25, 2011 · 8:14 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Texas Hotel Manager Arrested For Theft As Guest Cash Payments Were Adjusted In The Computer

“….Hotel management discovered Hunter had been stealing for some time, the affidavit claimed. Officials found Hunter would check guests in and adjust off cash payments in the computer, then take the money...”

“…Hunter…was charged with theft over $1,500 under $20,000, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Hunter’s bond was set at $5,000…”

A 30-year-old woman is suspected of stealing more than $3,000 from a Burkburnett business she worked for. On May 13, police were contacted by a representative of Sunway Hotel Management. The person said an audit of the property found money had been taken from the hotel safe, and from cash transactions.

The representative said Hunter, the general manager, said she had borrowed the missing money to pay for a child’s doctor bill, and would return it when she got paid. She was told she needed to come to the hotel to discuss the issue but never showed up.

A total of $2,618 in cash payments had been taken that way, allegedly all by Hunter. The total reached about $3,268 including petty cash from the safe.

For more:  http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2011/may/25/crime_beat_5-25/

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by | April 20, 2011 · 6:37 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: "Extended-Stay" Hotels Can Be "Havens For Crime" Unless Extra Security Measures Are Implemented Including Use Of Off-Duty Police Officers And Criminal Record And Sex Offender Background Checks

Extended-stay hotels make up about 10 percent of the hotel industry, said Joe McInerney, president of the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

“…the list of crimes reported at a Value Place extended-stay hotel included prostitution, drug sales, methamphetimine manufacture, heroin use, drug overdoses, child pornography, theft and a rape.

“…City officials and hotel leaders met April 4 and hashed out an agreement…. The hotel agreed to employ an off-duty Arnold police officer 24 hours a day. The hotel already was checking to make sure potential guests weren’t sex offenders, but will now check for other criminal offenses, as well….”

City officials were fed up and threatened to revoke the hotel’s business license. But a recent agreement to curtail crime at the 124-unit hotel is working, authorities say.

“By word of mouth, one tells the other this is a place where you can set up shop and be unencumbered,” Unrein said. Police had been called to Value Place about 230 times since it opened, Unrein said. That’s more than triple the number of calls to the city’s three other hotels combined, he said.

Problems reached a head this month. The hotel is offering a free hotel room where an Arnold police officer can live and have allowed police dogs to roam the halls this month, said Gina-Lynne Smith, president of Value Place.

The chain has a hotel in St. Charles. Police get more calls for service at that hotel than others in town, but it’s certainly not a nuisance, said Sgt. Todd Wilson of the city’s police department.

The hotels are not popular everywhere. Subdivision residents in Oakand Park, Fla., launched a campaign to keep a Value Place from being built nearby. So far, they have succeeded.

Their guests range from those who can’t afford a lease to professionals away from home for a temporary job assignment or extended training.

Kell Stovall of Memphis, an estimator for a roofing company, said he is spending his third week at the Arnold Value Place. He plans to move to an apartment at the end of the month.

He considered staying elsewhere after hearing about the hotel’s history but opted not to leave because he hasn’t had any problems. He said police officers knock on his truck windows to check on him when he talks on his phone on the hotel’s lot.

For more:  http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_76aae994-5d06-5e84-aaf6-5d7f13adc180.html

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by | March 16, 2011 · 4:29 pm

Hotel Industry Credit Card Security Risks: Major Hotel Industry Associations Issue "Joint Statements" On Actions To Prevent Cyber-Crime

 Three major hotel industry associations, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG), and Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) today issued the following joint statement to hotels regarding organized cyber crime attacks on credit card data. It identifies actions that hotels — and not their system vendors — need to take immediately in order to minimize their vulnerabilities and to avoid the potential for hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs and fines that typically result when just a single hotel system is breached.

  • Cyber criminals are systematically attacking systems that store credit card data
  • Criminal organizations are highly structured and integrated with the world’s organized crime rings
  • Attacks on hotels are highly targeted and effective
  • Many hoteliers believe they are not vulnerable because they use Point-of-Sale and Property Management Systems that have been validated as conforming to the latest PCI security standards.
  • The most important security measures are those that keep cyber criminals from getting inside the hotel network in the first place
  • Once inside, there are many ways for them to steal the data, even if the PMS or POS system itself is secure.

The three actions are:

  1. Eliminate EVERY default password on EVERY machine on your network — server, workstation, router, firewall, and any other device that has a password.
  2. Eliminate holes in remote access to systems inside your network
  3. Get a firewall and configure it properly. Operating without an Internet firewall is just as risky. Yet many hotels, especially smaller ones, don’t have a firewall

For more:  http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4050609.html

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by | March 15, 2011 · 2:57 pm

Hotel Industry Employee Risks: New York Hotel Employee Convicted Of Raping Guest And Civil Suit Seeks Damages For "Negligent Hiring, Supervision And Training"

A tourist filed a suit on Monday against a New York hotel where she was raped by an employee.

Her Manhattan federal court suit is seeking unspecified damages from the corporate parent company Surrey Hotel Associates for the allegedly negligent hiring, supervision and training of Jaime Marin Lopez Mendoza.

The victim’s holiday nightmare happened two days after Christmas in 2009. She was attacked at about 3am while sleeping in her room in the Dream Hotel on West 55th Street. He was convicted of first-degree rape in January and received a 15 year prison sentence.

Mendoza struck after helping the stumbling woman and her boyfriend into their room following a night of drinking, the New York Post reports. He ran off when she awoke to find him on top of her.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jill Konviser described the attack as the ‘ultimate example of depravity,’ adding: ‘This crime was not only violent and calculated, but it was a master class in cowardice.’ The victim, who comes from Rhode Island, did not go to the sentencing but wrote a letter which was read out in court.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366522/Tourist-sues-New-Yorks-Dream-Hotel-employee-raped-her.html#ixzz1GiAlQ223

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