Best Western released a statement yesterday refuting reports from the Glasgow Sunday Herald of the “greatest cyber-heist in world history.” The Scottish newspaper reported an Indian hacker breached the membership organization’s central reservation system, gaining access to the personal information of every single customer that booked a room at one of Best Western’s 1,312 European hotels since 2007 and then sold details of how to access the information to an underground network operated by the Russian mafia.

The original story said the stolen data potentially included home addresses, telephone numbers, credit-card details and places of employment for an estimated eight million people, but the statement from Best Western calls the story “largely erroneous” and says the number of customers actually affected was 10.

Best Western confirmed there was a breach on Aug. 21 at the 107-room Best Western Hotel am Schloss Kopenick in Berlin, Germany, but the only data compromised were reservations information for that property, not from every hotel in Europe.

The statement reads “a Trojan horse virus was detected by the hotel’s anti-virus software. The compromised log-in ID permitted access to reservations data for that property only. The log-in ID was immediately terminated, and the computer in question has been removed from use.”

The statement goes on to say Best Western is contacting those 10 customers and offering assistance, while working with the FBI and international authorities to investigate further. A PR representative for Best Western yesterday confirmed that information and said the company would be providing further comments as warranted.

Best Western’s statement makes clear the user ID permitted access only to the reservations at that hotel, “and there is no evidence of unauthorized access to data for any other Best Western hotel.” The statement explains how the company purges reservations data within seven days of guest departure, meaning the original report of anyone staying at a European property since 2007 being affected couldn’t be correct. According to Best Western, only those guests who departed in the past week, current guests and future guests of the hotel could be in harm’s way. Best Western also said it complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, which helps protect against identity theft and other fraud.

Best Western says customers with concerns are encouraged to call customer care at 800-528-1238.