IDs of 50,000 Bahamas resort guests stolen

Owner of the luxury 2,300-room Atlantis resort on Paradise Island says customers may be exposed to identity fraud.

The story "IDs of 50,000 Bahamas resort guests stolen" published January 10, 2006 at 5:24 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[dcollett--2008]

Thats a nice haul...

Your social security number is yours for life. Why is everybody giving these numbers out to anybody that asks for it? As for as I'm concerned the idiots that were victimized, they should demand lifetime 'credit monitoring' services from this Bahamas resort. Maybe it'll bankrupt them, but why should they ever be allowed to profit again until the exposed identities remain protected? This data should have never been asked for, let alone retained. Ideally we would like to stop using the passphrase to the vault as its ID, but until then, free credit monitoring for all. Yippie!

[tjdealer]

ridiculous comment

obviously, DUSTIN has never left his home town. get a life and see what the real world is like.this could happen anytime, anyplace, anywhere, your bank, your doctor, your ins. co. ,your employer, etc. etc.

[dcollett--2008]

Oh, by the way

Did anyone catch that I was totally defending these people (idiots) that got their ID stolen? You guys need to brush up on your writing skills as well, because both of you come across like 3rd graders. But I am really interested in a reply from val, because I'm curious as to how their social security numbers were compromised if the customer did not say "OK: xxx-xx-xxxx" (idiots)
The ssn IS a secret number, in the most serious sense of the word. The mistreatment of the ssn to be as casual as your phone number is what causes these problems in the first place. If my ssn is stolen, there are a few places they could have gotten it from, and I can name them all. If you cannot do the same, you are an idiot.

dustin

[Stating]

Why Did They Caollect All This Info?

Something is seriously wrong with a business that collects social security and bank account numbers just to rent a hotel room. The resort's senior management should have their head on a plate.

"Information stolen included names, addresses, credit card details, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers and bank account data, the filing said."

Atlantis Casino

More than likely the information collected was for individuals playing at the casino. I agree you shouldn't need to supply that type of information to rent a room. However, it makes perfect sense to capture this type of info for individuals making large transactions within the casino (credit lines, wire transfers, tax purposes, etc.)

[LCHAPPS]

Help - I need more of this!

I am actually working on a research paper which had been focused on why the credit card companies charge merchants so much for chargebacks and fraudulent data charges. After performing more and more research and finding companies like this resorts I now know why the credit card companies are backed into a corner. I thought it was the other way around!

[Neil Wainwright]

When did the leak happen? I have friends there now

I'd like to know if they should be worried...they booked fairly
recently.

Thanks...Neil

[curtiscarmack]

ouch

My wife and I were just there a month ago. Glad I didn't use the casino's "services," so no SSN or bank account details. However, they did have a credit card number. I hardly think that "notifying us in writing" is the most expeditious or efficient way to ensure that our personal details are not used for fraudulent purposes. This stinks!