FTC Sues Hotel Group Over Data Breaches

7/5/2012 6:00 PM EST

Wyndham Worldwide and three hotel and resort affiliates were sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for failing to protect customer data following three security breaches in just two years that allowed credit card information to be stolen.

The New York Times reports that the FTC’s lawsuit alleges the hotel and its affiliates kept sensitive credit card data in insecure files and failed to maintain reasonable security following several data breaches. The three incidents took place in 2008 and 2009, harming thousands of customers and causing more than $10.6 million in fraud losses, according to the FTC’s complaint.

Wyndham says it cooperated with the FTC’s investigation of the problem and will defend against the claims vigorously, according to the Times. The company, whose hotel brands include Ramada, Days Inn, and Super 8, also says it upgraded information security management systems.

If your credit card or other personal information was compromised due to a data breach, contact Sokolove Law for a free legal consultation and to find out if a consumer fraud lawyer may be able to help you. For legal help, call (800) 581-6358.