If you stayed at one of Best Western’s 1,312 European hotels since 2007, the Russian mafia now has your credit information! In a nightmarish globalization fairy tale come true, an Indian hacker successfully planted a virus in Best Western’s European computer systems that fed addresses, phone numbers, and credit card details to mobsters in Russia.

It is believed an Indian hacker succeeded in bypassing the security software and placing a Trojan virus on one of the firm’s machines used for reservations.

The next time a staff member logged in, his or her username and password were collected, stored then put up for sale on a website operated by a branch of the Russian mafia.

The stolen data includes a range of private information such as home addresses, telephone numbers, credit card details and place of employment.

Best Western fixed the security breach on Friday after being alerted by a Sunday newspaper, which had discovered the crime.

Best Western is “investigating further” and has temporarily handed control of their systems to its American team.

If you visited an affected hotel, you may want to immediately freeze your credit report and call your bank for replacement cards.

Hackers steal details of millions of Best Western hotel guests [The Telegraph]
Indian behind major cyber-crime in UK [Press Trust of India]
(Photo: Getty)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.