Dear guests,
We are currently receiving numerous reports from travellers who have received fraudulent emails or WhatsApp messages from foreign phone numbers and cryptic email addresses in connection with an upcoming booking. These messages ask you to confirm your booking or verify your payment details.
These messages do not originate from us.
The senders are misusing well-known BWH logos to give the impression that the messages are from our hotel. This is not the case. Please do not click on any links contained in these messages and do not disclose any personal data or payment information.
What has happened?
We are currently observing a widespread phishing attack that affects the entire hotel industry worldwide and is not limited to our hotels. It is possible that your booking details – such as your name, contact details and booking period – have also been viewed by unauthorised third parties. We are therefore informing you as a precautionary measure, even though we cannot say with certainty at this stage whether you are personally affected.
What are we doing?
We take this incident very seriously. Together with external IT specialists and the relevant regional and international authorities, we are working hard to get to the bottom of this. We are taking all measures in our power to prevent further spread and to protect your personal data as best we can.
What can you do?
If you have received a suspicious message, please save it, if possible as a screenshot, but do not click on any links included in the message. If you have already entered any data, we recommend that you contact your bank immediately and have your payment cards blocked as a precaution.
Your security is important to us. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and
uncertainty this situation may have caused you.
If you have any further questions, you can contact us at any time by email at info@hotel-heide.de. We are here for you.
Your Best Western Hotel Heide in Oldenburg
Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Please ignore these messages and contact us directly by email or phone at info@hotel-heide.de or +49 441 804260. Do not click on any links and do not follow the instructions in these messages.
External IT specialists are currently investigating whether and which personal data in our systems is affected. Due to the large number of phishing messages containing correct booking information (first and last name, telephone number or email address, booking number, booking period), we cannot completely rule out that you may be affected at this time. The investigation into the source of the phishing incidents currently being reported worldwide is still ongoing.
We currently have no reliable evidence that unauthorised access to our hotels’ systems has taken place. We are still investigating the cases reported to us. This is a large-scale attack affecting the hotel industry worldwide and is not limited to our hotel.
It cannot be ruled out that the attackers will use the links contained in the phishing messages to obtain further personal data from you (e.g. credit card information) or to misuse it, for example for identity theft. Therefore, please do not click on any links and do not disclose any information if you receive such a message.
If you have already disclosed personal data such as payment information, please have the affected payment methods blocked immediately. In addition, we recommend that you carefully check whether unauthorised orders, bookings or contracts have been made using your data. For your own safety, we also advise you to check your passwords and change them if necessary, and to pay close attention to any suspicious account activity in the coming weeks. As a precaution, you can also temporarily limit the credit limit on your bank account.
We immediately took measures to prevent potential damage and subjected our systems to a thorough IT forensic examination. This investigation is still ongoing. In addition, we have reviewed our security measures and implemented various updates and password changes. The transfer of contact details to our booking system from Booking.com was temporarily suspended, which led to a significant decrease in reported cases.
We are working closely with external IT specialists and have informed the relevant data protection supervisory authority about the incident.
We will, of course, continue to take all necessary measures to protect your data in the future.
We hope that this information has answered your most important questions. As soon as we have further information that is relevant to you, we will inform you immediately. We thank you very much for your patience and understanding. Dealing with this incident is our top priority.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time:
info@hotel-heide.de
+49 441 804260
