Change Your Loyalty Program Passwords Now
If you can’t remember the last time you changed the passwords for your loyalty program accounts, it’s time to update your passwords – otherwise you risk being hacked.
According to The New York Times , hackers are increasingly targeting consumer loyalty programs. These hackers claim our airline miles or hotel points and use them to book free flights or stays, in part because our weak passwords make it easy for them to steal our rewards.
“Loyalty programs are ‘almost a honey pot for hackers,’ said Kevin Lee, risk expert at digital security firm Sift. They tend to be the “path of least resistance”, he says: they’re easy to subscribe to, protected by weak passwords, and are often ignored by users. Programs and their appetite for data grew, but security did not keep up.
Hackers aren’t just targeting expensive travel. The New York Times reports that 9,700 Buffalo Wild Wings have been stolen from one person. According to Blazin ‘Rewards BWW site , that’s enough for nine free dinners (not including taxes and gratuities) and one free order of street tacos.
While some loyalty programs will replace your rewards if you report a theft, it is still recommended that you use strong passwords every time you sign up for the rewards program and change those passwords regularly – or install a password manager that will handle a lot of the work for you.
After all, you don’t want anyone else to enjoy the flight, the hotel room, or the plate of street tacos you rightfully earned.