Grand Sierra Resort Provides Notice of a Data Incident

DOWNEY, Calif., April 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Grand Sierra Resort is notifying  guests of an unfortunate situation regarding a data security incident that may have affected the security of certain guest payment card information.  Below is information on the incident and resources available to protect potentially impacted guests against identity theft or fraud, should they feel the need to do so.

WHAT HAPPENED? On or around September 29, 2015, the Grand Sierra Resort was contacted by law enforcement regarding an investigation into a potential compromise of payment card information used at food and retail locations at the Grand Sierra Resort.  The Grand Sierra Resort immediately began to cooperate with law enforcement and to investigate this matter.  Third party forensics investigators were retained to assist the Grand Sierra Resort.  On or around January 11, 2016, these investigators confirmed that certain guest payment card information for cards used at food and retail locations at the Grand Sierra Resort may have been compromised.    

WHAT INFORMATION WAS INVOLVED?  The investigation has determined that payment card information used at the Grand Sierra's onsite food and retail locations between February 19, 2014 and March 13, 2014 or March 20, 2015 and August 6, 2015 could be at risk.    This includes information like the cardholder's name, credit card number, credit card expiration date, Track 1 data and Track 2 data.  Please note that this incident did not affect payment cards used to book or pay for lodging. 

WHAT WE ARE DOING.   Since discovering the compromise, the Grand Sierra Resort has worked closely with law enforcement and its  forensics investigators to determine what happened, what information may be at risk and to whom this information may relate.  Additionally, as part of the Grand Sierra Resort's ongoing commitment to the security of the personal  information in its care, the Grand Sierra Resort has worked diligently to enhance existing security measures to prevent further unauthorized access to guest payment card information. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO.  The Grand Sierra Resort encourages potentially impacted guests to review the information below on how to better protect against identity theft or fraud. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION.  The Grand Sierra Resort apologizes for any inconvenience and concern this incident causes guests.  The security of our guests' personal information is one of the Grand Sierra Resort's highest priorities.  Should guests have any questions about the content of this notice or ways that they can protect themselves from the possibility of identity theft, please call the Grand Sierra Resort's dedicated hotline at  (877) 216-3789 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday.  Please use reference number 6216041816 when calling.    

ADDITIONAL STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT AND FRAUD

You may take action directly to further protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss.  We encourage you to be vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing your account statements regularly and monitoring your credit reports for suspicious activity.  Under U.S. law, you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus.  To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228.  You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.

At no charge, you can also have these credit bureaus place a "fraud alert" on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name.  Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it may also delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity.  As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts on your file.  Should you wish to place a fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report, please contact any one of the agencies listed below. 

In addition to a fraud alert, consumers may place a security freeze on their credit reports.  A security freeze prohibits a credit reporting agency from releasing any information from a consumer's credit report without the consumer's written authorization.  However, please be advised that placing a security freeze on your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prevent the timely approval of any requests you make for new loans, credit mortgages, employment, housing, or other services.

If you have been a victim of identity theft, and you provide the credit reporting agency with a valid police report, it cannot charge you to place, lift or remove a security freeze.  In all other cases, a credit reporting agency may charge you a fee to place, temporarily lift, or permanently remove a security freeze.  You will need to place a security freeze separately with each of the three major credit bureaus listed above if you wish to place the freeze on all of your credit files. 

To find out more on how to place a security freeze, you can contact the credit reporting agencies using the information below:

You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, and the steps you can take to protect yourself, by contacting the Federal Trade Commission or your state Attorney General.  For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, 1-919-716-6400, www.ncdoj.gov.  For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16^th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, 1-888-743-0023, www.oag.state.md.us.  The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.ftc.gov/idtheft/, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261.  The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them.  You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above.  Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement.

SOURCE The Grand Sierra Resort