It’s the 2020s and for the vast majority of hotels, even the teeny tiny, privately owned ones, there are apps available for the hotel owner to get the guest’s card information. This keeps the guest’s card information relatively safe and secure, so you don’t have to worry quite as much about bad actors who might take the card info (like back in the day when it was imprinted manually) and use it.
So what happens if a hotel goes even beyond that measure of safety and the person at the front desk takes a photo of the person’s card, along with the CVV number?
The dirty deed
That’s the dilemma a user on Reddit brought up a few weeks ago. They say they booked a hotel, located in Texas, through the mobile app and upon check-in, the person at the front desk asked for the booking confirmation email, the breakdown of the payment, their ID and the card they used to pay for the hotel.
The Redditor, who goes by the handle @Unusual_Bandicoot425, continued that the guy took a picture of the email, as well as their ID AND the debit card they used (with all the details – card number, expiration date, and CVV code).
They didn’t feel comfortable (they used the words “odd” and “risky”) that the front desk person had access to both their ID and credit card information. So they were asking if this was necessary or even normal.
The responses
The answers came fast and furious. It was NOT necessary OR normal, and it put @Unusual_Bandicoot425 at risk for fraudulent charges on their card.
- I would cancel the card and get a new one reissued. The last time someone did that to me, I stood in front of them as I called it in and let them hear me describe what was done. My cc company called their processor. — MightyManorMan
- That happened to me in Peru. The fraudulent charges started a few days later. — TheDudeWhoCanDoIt (in response to this, someone said they wait a few days so it’s not obvious that it was them)
- You absolutely need to call this hotel out. As others have said, call your bank and tell them what happened and to cancel the card and reissue another card with a new account number before the fraud starts happening. Since you used your debit card, that’s your money, and you have less consumer protections with a debit card than a credit card (although most banks will work with you for fraud). But just to be safe, yes, cancel your card. — pmodern2000
Is this even legal?
It’s not. It’s a PCI DSS violation. That stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It’s a set of rules and best practices that govern how card data is supposed to be handled, so it’s not used for fraud.
Because we’re in the age of electronics, no one should be storing credit card numbers, and definitely not storing CVV. Even if something happens where a hotel can’t get the card information their regular way, their backup must have encryption, along with additional controls to keep the data safe.
And if a hotel violates this and is caught, they could be fined upwards of $10,000.
Wait, you can use a debit card for a hotel stay?
Yes. Here’s how.
The rest of the story
@Unusual_Bandicoot425 was obviously very uncomfortable with what was happening. And frankly, who could blame them? They said they had their card blocked (read: cancelled) after they got the keys and entered the room.
Probably a very smart move.
Trick to stop this from happening
Someone recommended memorizing your CVV code and scratching it out. Genius.
Here’s the whole story, if you want to read it.
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