Marriott Front Desk Clerk Arrested After Stealing Credit Cards From 23 Hotel Guests

In 2024, Brittany Nicole Hayworth — an 18-month front desk agent at a Marriott property in Orlando, Florida — was arrested and terminated after a PCI compliance investigation revealed she had been systematically stealing credit card information from hotel guests during the check-in process. Over a four-month period, Hayworth photographed and memorized the card numbers, names, expiration dates, and CVV codes of 23 separate guests in the brief window between card hand-off and scan, storing each entry in her phone's notes app under coded labels using an identical template: guest name, full card number, expiry, CVV, and check-in date. She waited 24 to 72 hours after each guest checked out before using the stolen credentials for online purchases shipped to drop addresses, and sold a portion of the card data to a fraud broker through Telegram. Investigators estimate the scheme generated approximately $87,000 in fraudulent charges before it was detected. The investigation was triggered when three guests independently reported unauthorized charges that fell within their Marriott stay window, prompting a formal PCI compliance review that quickly identified Hayworth as the common point of compromise. A court-authorized search warrant unlocked her phone and recovered all 23 entries, intact. She faces charges of identity theft under Florida F.S. § 817.568, credit card fraud, and scheme to defraud. Among the victims was a family of four from Georgia whose card was used to purchase over $3,400 in electronics within hours of their departure — charges they discovered only after their bank flagged the transactions the following morning.