HEI Hospitality, which owns and operates a range of high-end hotels including the Marriott, Sheraton and Westin, has sent letters to around 3,400 customers to reveal that their credit card data may have been stolen or compromised.

It was revealed by the firm that an intrusion into point-of-sale systems at a handful of its properties earlier this year could have allowed cardholder data to be illegally accessed.

It is believed that the intrusion could have exposed a large amount of information to hackers, including credit card types, numbers, expiration dates and security codes.

Yet while the file security issue is one of grave concern, a representative from HEI confirmed last week that there seem to have been no reports of any information being misused, with the chain keeping a close eye on developments over the coming weeks.

Last week, Greater Manchester Police concluded that a USB stick found outside of their station did not, as the Daily Star claimed, contain anti-terror information after it was analysed by the force.