Can The Full Credit Card Number Appear on a Receipt?

Oftentimes when we get receipts, we check for accurate prices and then throw them away or store them. But many consumers may not know that checking for the full credit card number on each of their receipts can help prevent identity theft and fraud.

According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), which was first passed in 2003, retailers are not allowed to print your full credit card number on receipts.

If your full credit card number appears on a receipt, you have cause to file a complaint or even to file a FACTA lawsuit.

The reason FACTA bans retailers from printing your full credit card number is that potential fraudsters can this kind of information to commit identity theft and fraud.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act requires that retailers use a process called truncation, which essentially just shortens important information to an acceptable length that cannot be easily misused by identity thieves.

Truncation is a simple process, requiring only that retailers have up-to-date machines that comply with rules. However, truncation must be done in a specific manner, as only a small portion of a consumers’ full credit card number may be shown.

According to FACTA rules, only the last five digits of a credit card number may be displayed on a receipt. The rest of the full credit card number is generally censored with asterisks.

Oftentimes, since a full credit card number comes in four four-digit segments, retailers choose to censor everything but the last four digits for simplicity’s sake.

Credit card receipts, when following FACTA rules, should look something like this:

**** **** **** 1234

or

**** **** ***1 2345

The other major aspect of FACTA rules is that the card’s expiration date must be completely censored.

**/****

or

**/**

It should be noted that hand-written receipts, which are very rare nowadays, are exempt from these FACTA rules.

Check Your Receipts for Full Credit Card Numbers!

If you notice your full credit card number  is printed on your receipts, you may be able to file a complaint or lawsuit.

Recognizing FACTA violations can protect not only you, but hundreds or even thousands of other consumers. If a company is using a receipt machine that has not been updated to accurately comply with FACTA rules, then any violations it prints are consistent across the rest of its customers’ receipts as well.

Depending on the company, this can affect many customers, exposing them to potential fraud. Filing a lawsuit can help not only you, but the other customers affected as well.

You may file a complaint or lawsuit even if the exposure of your information has not led to direct harm such as identity theft or fraud.

Filing a FACTA lawsuit may lead to substantial damages as well as attorney’s fees. Indeed, FACTA awards statutory damages of up to $1,000 per individual violation.

Check for your full credit card number on your receipts on a regular basis to determine whether or not a retailer has properly complied with FACTA rules.

In order to prove that a company violated FACTA, keep your receipts that clearly show FACTA 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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