FACTA Privacy Importance

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) was established in 2003 to help protect consumers from credit card fraud and identity theft.

FACTA privacy laws mandate that merchants must hide certain information on electronically printed debit or credit card receipts, to help protect consumers’ personal identification information.

To adhere to FACTA privacy standards, merchants must be able to hide all but the last five digits of the debit or credit number and must completely omit the expiration date. By hiding the account number, the consumer’s personal finances are better protected and lowers the overall chances of fraud or theft.

This process is called truncation, which is meant to set up difficulties for hackers or fraudsters to retrieve the consumer’s personal account information. FACTA privacy standards apply to all electronically printed debit or credit receipts produced to the customers at the point of sale or transaction.

This means that the receipts must reflect the purchase transaction which the customer may keep for financial record. FACTA privacy standards apply to all electronically printed receipts from cash registers, self-service kiosks, and those provided to customers at restaurants.

In addition to preventing debit or credit card information from being easily accessible, FACTA also allows customers to a free credit report from each of the three biggest nationwide credit reporting agencies.

Consumers can access this report from either Equifax, Experian or TransUnion through the annualcreditreport.com website where they can review these reports for any inaccuracies.

With these two dimensions of FACTA privacy laws, consumers and merchants are provided with a reasonable assurance that there are forms of protection in place for their personal accounts.

Overview of FACTA Privacy Importance

Even though FACTA was established in 2003, merchants were given until 2006 to update their cash registers and transaction software to be meet FACTA privacy standards.

Along with protecting the consumer’s personal information, meeting FACTA standards also lowers the likelihood of merchants being held accountable for any instances of credit card fraud or identity theft.

Merchants who do not adhere to FACTA privacy standards could potentially be fined $1,000 per faulty receipt, which either shows more than the last five card numbers or the expiration date. These violations can quickly add up for any businesses, so confirming that they meet FACTA standards is very important.

Customers who believe they received electronically printed receipts that violate FACTA privacy standards may be eligible for compensation. Potential claimants should contact a specialized lawyer, to determine eligibility for a FACTA lawsuit.

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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