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.
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?
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…
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.