Tag Archives: Theft

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Former Hotel Broker Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Conducting Fraud Schemes”

“In one scheme, Koger had been hired by Host, the country’s largest hotel owner, to sell two properties. Instead of selling to the highest bidders,Court Ruling Koger allegedly sold the properties to straw buyers, who then immediately resold them to the interested buyers for a profit. Koger allegedly orchestrated a similar deal in which a straw buyer purchased promissory notes backing European hotels that Host was interested in and then resold them to Host at a higher price, pocketing the difference.”

Former hotel broker Robert T. Koger was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in prison for orchestrating a series of fraudulent schemes resulting in more than $55 million in losses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Koger, 48, served as president and sole owner of Molinaro Koger, a hotel real estate brokerage firm in Vienna. According to court records, charges against the 48-year-old were tied to various schemes, including a pair that cost Host Hotels & Resorts more than $22 million.

For more: http://wapo.st/1pNSO7V

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Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Word to the Wise: Phone Scam Targets Hotel Guests”

“…The callers are very convincing. According to hotel guests targeted by this scam,front desk the caller sounds very professional. However, hotels generally handle any questions about billing at the front desk, not over the phone. And they certainly wouldn’t be calling you in the middle of the night…”

Many travelers are trying to squeeze in last-minute vacations before schools are back in full swing. Unfortunately, scammers know this and may try to trick you into divulging your credit card information by posing as hotel employees. The Better Business Bureau warns travelers to beware of a telephone phishing scam designed to steal credit card numbers.

Hotel guests across the nation are alerting local BBBs of the increased popularity of this scam. Since travel and hotel stays tend to increase during the summer, the scammers ramp up their efforts during this time.

For more: http://bit.ly/1ou7mUV

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Risk Management, Technology

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Hilton Turns Smartphones Into Room Keys”

“…Ensuring that the technology can be used safely may not be that easy. In September 2012, according to a report published two months later by Forbes, an IT services consultant for Dell returned to her Hyatt room in Houston,hotelkeys Texas, to find her laptop stolen. The hotel concluded that the thief had entered the room by exploiting a vulnerability in a digital lock made by Onity. The vulnerability had been disclosed at the Black Hat security conference in July, 2012, and Onity said it shipped a fix to customers the following month…”

Hilton Worldwide plans to allow guests to check-in and choose their rooms using mobile devices, and even to unlock their hotel rooms.

By the end of the year, Hilton says it will offer digital check-in and room selection at 11 of its brands, across more 4,000 properties. The service will be available to Hilton HHonors members in more than 80 countries, the company said.

“We analyzed data and feedback from more than 40 million HHonors members, as well as guest surveys, social media posts, and review sites, and it’s clear that guests want greater choice and control,” said Geraldine Calpin, SVP and global head of digital at Hilton Worldwide, in a statement.

For more: http://ubm.io/1la55xX

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Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “How Best to Battle Against Cybercriminals”

“…As part of the plan, properties should be aware of laws pertaining to data breach disclosure,CyberCriminal-620x330 educate staff on protocols, contact law enforcement to see who would have jurisdiction in the case of a breach, and put outside data monitoring and incident response teams on retainer…”

Hotels, the bad guys have their beady eyes on you.

“The more credit cards you have, the more interesting you are to someone,” says Suzanne Widup, senior analyst with Verizon’s RISK team. “You have data that they want.”

The hotel industry has a big target on its back, agrees Chris Pogue, director at Trustwave, an information security technology and services company, specifically because property management systems, food and beverage, and retail all reside under one roof and a central integration server consolidates all this customer data.

For more: http://bit.ly/Uy6szg

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Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology, Training

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Secret Service Warns Hotels of Data Theft”

“…Given that users at hotels use public computers to check email, print boarding passes, pay for travel arrangements and download private business information,SecretService it’s not too hard to imagine what an imaginative hacker could do with this information. Worse still, there isn’t much that even a savvy hotel operator can do to prevent this misuse…”

The Secret Service has confirmed what you’ve probably suspected for a long time: Public computers at hotels are ridiculously insecure, and you’re taking a gamble with your personal data each time you use one.

For more: http://fxn.ws/1rk6Pfg

 

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Technology, Theft

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Luxury Hotel Computer Breach Impacts Thousands”

“…It’s difficult to know how many customers were impacted, Love added, because people use multiple payment forms – online presencecredit cards, cash, checks and member charges – for amenities including stays in the posh 289-room hotel, food and valet service. Membership accounts, including the items and services charged to them, were not affected, the news release said…”

At least 10,000 customers of The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa were exposed in a credit card security breach that lasted nearly six months, officials alerted guests on Tuesday.

The west Houston luxury retreat emailed 10,000 people about the “malicious software attack,” which started on December 28, 2013 and continued until June 20, information technology director Jason Love said.

For more: http://bit.ly/1rbrDDl

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Liability, Management And Ownership, Technology, Theft

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Navigating Concerns and Identifying Solutions”

“…Hotels are held to extraordinarily high standards with regard to safety and security.hotelkeycard.security It is critically important that all hotel staff be trained on appropriate security procedures for all high traffic areas, including the lobby, front desk, baggage storage area, guest entry points, valet, and parking lot and receiving dock areas..”

A single act of crime on your property could diminish your brand.

Business and recreational travelers demand safe and secure hotel accommodations, as well as responsive and friendly customer service. How can hoteliers ensure that their property provides as secure an environment as possible, while maintaining friendly customer service?

Best practices for protecting sensitive business information while making people productive from

As Warren Buffet said, “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

With that said, here are nine things to consider when it comes to blending hospitality and security.

For more: http://bit.ly/T3dyv1

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Training

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Atlantic City ‘Fake’ FBI Agent Convicted of Casino-Hotel Robbery”

“…With the assistance of Borgata security, police located and arrested Jonathan P. Zembreski,new jersey casino then 32, of East Northport, N.Y., inside the casino. Zembreski was charged with robbery and impersonating a public servant or law enforcement officer and lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility in default of $200,000 bail…”

A New York State man has been convicted of impersonating an FBI agent inside an Atlantic City casino-hotel last year in order to gain entry to a hotel room and rob the occupant.

On March 1, 2013 at 3:49 a.m., Atlantic City police responded to the Borgata Hotel and Casino for a report of a strong-arm robbery that had occurred inside the hotel/casino.

For more: http://bit.ly/1kKjsaX

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Benton Police Bust Crime Ring Based Out of Hotel”

“…Police said detectives found four stolen vehicles, a large amount of stolen property and numerous articles of evidence related to identity theft and forgeries in the suspects’ possession.Image Methamphetamine, prescription medication and ecstasy were also found on the scene…The suspects purportedly used multiple rooms at the hotel to avoid detection and used stolen license plates and vehicles to avoid being caught, the release states…”

The arrest of a burglary suspect on Monday led Benton police to discover and bust a Saline County criminal enterprise ring, officials said.

Officers responded to a burglary in progress around 12:45 p.m. Monday on River Heights Drive. While police were unable to locate the suspect — identified as Jason Hamilton, 33, of Benton — at the time of the burglary, Hamilton was later located in Pulaski County and taken into custody, the Benton Police Department said in a news release.

For more: http://bit.ly/1gE0r9o

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry News Update: “Restaurant And Hospitality News For VARs”

This week the news includes a warning that hackers are using third-parties to gain access to data through vulnerable systems. Also, hotels and other retailers are adopting new mobile technology for check-in. Image And finally, in an interview with Forest Key of Buuteeq, we find out why hotel marketing is flying to the cloud.

Hackers Lurking In Vents And Soda Machines

This article from The New York Times discusses how your clients could be vulnerable to cyberattacks through solutions and devices be tied to a leaky third party, such as online menus, or even heating and cooling providers who now monitor and adjust office temperatures remotely, and vending machine suppliers who can see when their clients are out of Diet Cokes and Cheetos. Vendors are tempting targets for hackers because they tend to run older systems, and once hackers have found a way in, the devices offer them a place to hide in plain sight.

For more: http://www.bsminfo.com/doc/restaurant-and-hospitality-news-for-vars-april-0001

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology