Credit Card Receipt Information Must Be Truncated According to FACTA

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, also known as FACTA, was a set of amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act made to protect consumers from increasing incidents of identity theft.

As part of FACTA, it is stated that business must not print full credit card receipt information on an electronically printed transaction slip. This credit card receipt information includes a full credit card number and any part of the credit card’s expiration date.

According to FACTA, the credit card receipt information must be truncated, or reduced to nothing more than the last five digits of the full number. Placeholder symbols for the numbers such as “*” or “#” are allowed.

For most consumers, we have become so accustomed to seeing this truncation that we no longer look or review our receipts. This is a mistake.

Some companies still do fail to follow the law in this regard, and the law is very, very specific. There should be no excuse for a business to reinterpret FACTA to allow for the last six digits to be printed or the middle five digits.

The most important part of the specification regarding credit card receipt information is that it not reveal the card’s expiration date. A cyber-criminal could, by process of elimination, identify an individual with this data available.

Exceptions to the Rules

The exception to this rule stands for small businesses that still use “old-fashioned” credit card imprinting machines where no other option is available. In this situation, credit card receipt information is automatically imprinted on the receipt and the responsibility is handed to the owner of the card to protect his data accordingly.

The other exception to this rule is in the situation of handwritten receipts, also when there is no other option available. If this risk is too great to bear, the person should probably not choose to shop at such stores in the future.

FACTA became law in 2003. It was not in effect for any electronic cash register made before Jan. 1, 2005 prior to about November 2006—a three-year period. It was in effect within one short year for those electronic cash registers made after that date.

Consequences of Violation

If FACTA is violated by improperly printing credit card receipt information, each event can cost a company up to $1,000. This cost becomes prohibitive when failures become aggregate, as in FACTA class action lawsuits. Not only does this consequence discourage a corporation from inattention to matters of the law, but joining a class action can help ease the pain if you have been the victim of identity theft.

Regularly reviewing your receipts is a matter of self-protection and is highly encouraged. If you feel you have been hurt by a company’s lack of adherence to FACTA, a consultation with a knowledgeable FACTA lawyer may be in order.

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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