There have been some high profile companies in recent times that have been the target of hackers. The biggest and most publicized was the hack of the Sony PlayStation network, which saw the service down for around a month and millions of users affected. Now we have news that budget UK hotel chain Travelodge has become the latest company to be targeted, and customers email details have been stolen.
One of our readers tipped us off after receiving an email direct from Travelodge Chief Executive Guy Parsons, which stated the company wanted to ensure the security of their customer’s data. It went on to say that a small number of people might have received a spam email via their registered address with the company.
The email in question was offering Travelodge users a business opportunity working a few hours a day. It required that interested users be aged eighteen or above and a resident in the UK, with just a small knowledge of the internet and computers. It also required access to a personal email account.
Travelodge have assured its customers it would never sell their information to third parties and all financial data “is compliant with current best practice standards”. The company stressed it was carrying out “a comprehensive investigation” into the security breach.
The problem is some users when contacted in such a way by email may fall for the tricks of the fraudsters and reply to the phishing emails with more sensitive personal data. This has become a regular trick for criminals in recent times, and by gaining lots of email addresses allows them to gain access to the public with their scams.
We have seen the spam email sent to some Travelodge users and the spelling and grammar leaves a lot to be desired. The list of different institutions and companies being targeted by cyber criminals is growing on an alarming rate, and makes you wonder if our information stored there is ever going to be safe.
The UK is not the only place in the world were hotels are being used with spam email and scareware, within the last couple of days the FBI has disrupted a cyber-crime ring that used malvertising. This involved a phony advertising agency being setup, which then pretended to represent a hotel chain. You can read more on this story here.
Did you receive the email from Travelodge? Are you concerned about cyber crime?
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