Why Your Keys Could Welcome An Intruder

In efforts to make doing business easier, many places now offer “loyalty tags” in which you can earn reward points towards your next purchase just by flashing your loyalty key tag. These key tags are usually added to your key ring to make shopping easier. However, it has recently been discovered that these tags could pose a threat to your privacy. In recent news, a woman reported that she had lost her set of keys while shopping and despite announcements through the department store the keys had never been found. Since the woman had a spare set of keys in her wallet, she didn’t pay much attention to her loss as she still had her wallet and personal information with her. Just a few short days later however, an intruder entered her home leaving no signs of forced entry. After speaking with the police it became evident that the keys that the woman had lost were used to enter her home and her loyalty tags were involved in tracing back to where this woman lived. The person who came across her set of keys went to one of the stores she had a loyalty tag for and purchased an item using the loyalty tag. With the item that this person purchased, also came a receipt that had the woman’s name printed on it. After skimming through the phone book, the intruder quickly found out where this woman lived and used the set of keys to walk right through the front. It is advisable to know which loyalty tags that you carry on your keys provide your name on the receipt. Simply check receipts of all loyalty tags on your key chain. For those who provide your name, remove them from your key ring and keep them somewhere safe.