Hotel Key cards

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HOTEL KEY CARDS
Have you ever wondered what is on your magnetic hotel key card?
Answer :
a. Customer's name
b. Customer's partial home address
c. Hotel room number
d. Check-in date and out dates
e. Customer's credit card number and expiry date!
When you turn them in to the front desk, your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner. An employee can take a handful of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a lap top computer and use your details in whatever way that person wants.

Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until an employee reissues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest's information is electronically 'overwritten' on the card and the previous guest's information is erased in the overwriting process. But until the card is rewritten for the next hotel guest, it is usually kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!

The bottom line is : Keep the cards, take them home with you, or destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in your room or room wastebasket, and never turn them into the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not charge you for the card, and you'll be sure you are not leaving a lot of valuable personal information on it that could be easily lifted off with any simple scanning device card reader.
For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and you discover you still have the card in your pocket, do not throw it in any trash basket. Simply take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the electronic information strip!
If you have a small magnet, pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then try it in the door, it will not work, it erases everything on the card.

Information courtesy of : Police CID