Orbitz, AmexTravel; Victims of Latest Data Breach Effecting 880,000 Customers
NEW YORK – If you travel and like to use third party travel sites to find discounts you may be one of the latest co-victims of a data breach by hackers which compromised near a million customers who use online booking services.
According to Norton Internet Security, Orbitz, which has been owned by Expedia since 2015, released information regarding two separate data breaches tied to an older web site platform that effected partner bookings including AmexTravel.com; the first between January 1, 2016, and June 22, 2016 with the second between January 1, 2016, and December 22, 2017.
Up to 880,000 cards at risk in #Expedia subsidiary hack https://t.co/HgFMrcEOnc pic.twitter.com/jKiIy7MJgv
— General Data Protection Regulation – #GDPR (@DataBreachClaim) March 21, 2018
Although there is ‘no proof’ the information was actually stolen, the company confirmed that it has found evidence of a breach on March 1st, 2018 and estimates that approximately 880,000 credit cards may have been impacted.
Information available to the hackers did not include social security numbers, travel destinations or itinerary information but would have included the following basic customer information which is plenty enough do damage:
- Customer’s full name
- Date of birth
- Phone number
- Email address
- Physical or billing address
- Gender
As in most similar situations, the company is offering a complementary year of their credit monitoring services. You might say that with the amount of data breaches as of late, if you like using credit monitoring services, you may never actually ‘pay’ for the services when it is time to renew the initial free year; you’ll just have to get used to switching to different services which are also offering a free year due to their own breach.
Our statement on the Orbitz cyber attack. Please contact us if you have questions about your account. pic.twitter.com/OqePeaXahw
— American Express (@AmericanExpress) March 20, 2018
John Colascione is Chief Executive Officer of SEARCHEN NETWORKS®, a digital marketing and technology company founded in 2001. An entrepreneur, author, and digital publisher with more than 25 years of experience, he specializes in search engine marketing, Website Monetization, domain names, and online business development. He is the author of Mastering Your Website and publishes commentary on technology, digital marketing, and the evolving Internet economy. Read more at JohnColascione.com.
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