by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:45 AM ET, Wed December 5, 2018
After the massive data breach that impacted as many as 500 million records in its Starwood Hotels reservation system, Marriott is offering to pay impacted customers to replace their passport if fraud has been detected.
According to MarketWatch.com, New York Senator Chuck Schumer said Marriott should replace all passports for those who have had their information stolen, but the hotel giant said it would only replace them if fraud was reported.
"Marriott must personally and immediately notify customers under the greatest security risk and then foot the bill for those folks to acquire a new passport and number should they request it," Senator Schumer told Market Watch.
The comments come after Marriott revealed 327 million of the estimated 500 million customers impacted by the data hack had their passport numbers stolen. As a result of the breach, experts said impacted travelers should change their passport numbers, passwords and credit card numbers.
Marriott officials revealed the unauthorized attempt to access the Starwood guest reservation database was originally discovered on September 8, but security experts hired by the hotel chain found the issue dates back to 2014.
"We deeply regret this incident happened," Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said. "We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves. We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward."
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