Credit Card Receipt Safety Still Important After FACTA Rules

Everyone knows that losing a credit card can be dangerous, allowing for fraudulent spending that becomes a nightmare to fix.

What many people don’t know is that losing a credit card receipt can be nearly as dangerous if it shows your full account number and expiration date.

Anyone who finds this information on a receipt can use it to spend your money via phone or online purchases. Of course, most merchants do require the security code printed on the card itself, which is not printed on the credit card receipt. This does lessen the potential risk of fraud, but does not stop it completely.

A federal law passed in 2003 and in full effect since 2006 states that electronic receipts printed for customers must display no more than the last five digits of the consumer’s card number, and may not include any portion of the expiration date.

This law was enacted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. consumer protection agency, under the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA).

FACTA compliance protects consumers from fraud and identity theft, which has been on the rise.

FACTA rules apply only electronically printed receipts, and do not include handwritten or imprinted receipts. However, most receipts are electronically printed, so companies should make sure that their receipt equipment is updated to comply with FACTA guidelines.

Although this law has been in full effect for nearly a decade, consumers should still make sure to handle their credit card receipts carefully, keeping track of and properly disposing receipts with account information on them. Some merchants may not be fully complying with FACTA regulations, and so consumers should be on the lookout for businesses with machines that print more information than is allowed according to FACTA.

FACTA Compliance

The law states that electronic receipts must include no more than the last five digits of the card number, using symbols such as asterisks (****) to delete the rest of the number. Printing digits from the card number that are anything but the last five digits are FACTA violations.

The process of masking customer’s card information is called truncation – a word that means shortening the number, or cutting it off before it reveals too much. Truncation is not always done properly by retailers, who may have out-of-date machines, or may not understand the rules of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act.

The examples below show potential violations of FACTA rules for card number truncation.

Example 1: 1*** **** **** ****

Example 2: **** **** **11 1111

Note that Example 1 is still a violation. Fewer than five digits are shown, but the number shown here is not taken from the last five digits, and so violates FACTA rules. Only the last five digits may be shown, not digits from elsewhere in the number. (Fewer than five digits may be shown if they are all located within the last five digits of the number.)

Example 2 reveals more than the last five digits, so it also violates FACTA rules.

Unlike with a credit or debit card number, if any portion of the expiration date is printed on a customer’s receipt, it is also a FACTA violation, even if some part of the date is concealed.

Check your receipts regularly to make sure that no FACTA violations have taken place. Doing this will protect you from both FACTA violations and identity theft and fraud. Consumers have the right under FACTA rules to file a lawsuit for these simple violations.

Free FACTA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you made one or more purchases and the retailer provided you with a receipt that contained more than the last five digits of your credit or debit card number or the expiration date, you may be eligible for a free class action lawsuit investigation and to pursue compensation for these FACTA violations.

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