Marriott International recently announced a massive data breach involving its subsidiary, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. According to Marriott, cyber criminals have had access to the reservation system of many of its hotel chains since 2014. Approximately 500 million customers have been affected.
Information exposed during this breach includes names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, Starwood Preferred Guest (“SPG”) account information, dates of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation dates, and communication preferences. Payment card information may also have been impacted, but this is currently unconfirmed.
Marriott has begun notifying affected customers via email, and has set up an information website here:
https://info.starwoodhotels.com/
Beware of scammers posing as Marriott or Starwood representatives. Cyber criminals will often leverage major news stories like this to trick users into providing information about themselves or clicking links to malicious websites. Legitimate messages related to this breach will come from starwoodhotels@email-marriott.com, and will not contain any attachments or request personal information. If you are unsure of a message’s authenticity, you may forward the email to Customer Care at HelpIT@fordham.edu.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this breach, please contact IT Customer Care at (718) 817-3999 or HelpIT@fordham.edu.
