You Are Not Safe from Thieves in Your Hotel Room!

A few weeks ago I blogged about a device that dishonest people can buy or construct that can steal your credit card information while the person simply walks by you in the mall or on the street. Now the word is out that there is another device that thieves can make that allows them easy access to your credit cards and other valuables inside your hotel room.

Having just returned from a week in Chicago and a week in Orlando on business trips, and as I am preparing for a trip to Dallas next week, I am troubled by this story. The Chicago hotel I stayed in did not have the type of lock that is the subject of this story, but the Orlando hotel did. The locks are made by a company called Onity, which calls itself the "Worldwide Leader in Electronic Locks."

The Onity website, English edition

Onity electronic lock products

This story was broadcast this past Sunday night, October 21, 2012, on ABC News by Mark Geenblatt. Watch how easily these guys can get into a hotel room.

While in both Chicago and Orlando these past two weeks, I hung my Do Not Disturb or Privacy sign on the door each day. I can get along for several days without having to switch out towels or sheets. I hate the thought of the cleaning people in my room messing with my stuff. I am not high maintenance at home, so I never let them service my room. They may be the nicest and most honest people in the world. But I just prefer not to leave things to chance. Even then, that certainly does not mean that no one can come in uninvited, as this recent revelation of dishonesty confirms. 

And, to add insult to injury, these brazen thieves are sharing their "craft" with other thieves. Watch this video to see how they pass along their knowledge.

And, then a video that shows you how to take that information and put it into a dry erase marker for purposes of disguising it in plain sight.



And that is not the end of it. On a website called TrustWave at blogs.Spiderlabs.com you can find an entry for "James Bond's Dry Erase Marker: The Hotel Pen Test Pen" which contains a complete description on how to construct this theft device for as little as $50. And the entire written instructions are here: http://demoseen.com/bhpaper.html.

Next week in Dallas, for the one night I am there, I will not be leaving ANYTHING of value in my hotel room, regardless of what type of lock is on the door. 

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