Yesterday I tried logging into my IHG account but ran into some trouble. From what I recall, the last time I checked out my account was just before we left for our month long trip around South Asia (figure mid-July 2019).
When I went to log in through Award Wallet, I got a message that my pin didn’t match! This made little sense but I then attempted to reset my pin. I then ran into another issue. When I typed my e-mail in for the reset, I received a message that the e-mail didn’t match for my account!
Once this happened, I figured that while we were away, my account must’ve been hacked!
I decided to call IHG to find out what was going on.
After giving my IHG Rewards account number, name and phone number to the rep, I then gave my e-mail which was not a match.
I was then asked when my last IHG stay was. I knew that we last stayed at a Kimpton in NYC but didn’t know the exact date. The rep then put me on hold to transfer me to the fraud prevention department.
After a lengthy hold, again I had to give my personal info. Soon after, I was told that 100,000 of my IHG Rewards points were redeemed for a stay at the Intercontinental in San Francisco last month! Nope, that definitely wasn’t me.
While one might get pissed off, annoyed or worried about the loss of points, I pretty much just laughed and then asked what happens next. I was thanked for being a Platinum Elite IHG member and told not to worry.
Before I could even ask how long it would take to get my IHG Rewards points back, the rep told me to wait a moment and that my account would be restored.
A pin was e-mailed to me and I was back in my account. I decided to look around and see what had happened.
It turns out that somebody redeemed 140,000 of my IHG Rewards points on August 8 for a two-night stay starting the following day. At 70,000 points per night, I assume that the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco must be a damn nice property.
One benefit of this hack on my account was that I was credited with 600 IHG Rewards points as a welcome bonus for the bogus stay.
In the end, IHG customer support did a great job sorting out this theft of points. They got me back into the account and also restored my missing points in pretty much no time.
Mike Saint- We were curious about this too! All I could see was the dates of the stay and the property which was booked.
Rupert- Thanks and so true. I was impressed by IHG and how they instantly reinstated the points.
Glad you got your points and account back
So many hacked IHG accounts, yet they still use a 4-digit PIN as password, unbelievable in 2019…
This is what happens when you use a 4 digit PIN #. They refuse to update their system.
Just out of curiosity, when people do this, do they book the property in your name? I would assume they need to. Or do they book for someone else? I was always curious about this. Do they ever give you any details about the stay?