FACTA Helps Protect Consumers against Credit Card Identity Theft

FACTA, or the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, was designed to protect consumers against credit card identity theft. It was added as an addendum to the Fair Credit Recording Act back in 2003.

Businesses had several years to bring their standards up to meet the requirements of FACTA and were required to be fully compliant by 2006.

One provision of the act that most consumers are aware of is that consumers are allowed to receive a free annual report from the top three credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Consumers can check these reports to make sure that their private information is accurately contained in the databases of these companies.

Receipt Guidelines to Protect against Credit Card Identity Theft

A lesser known provision of FACTA outlines what type of information can be included on electronically printed consumer debit card and credit card receipts.

FACTA requires merchants to follow two main rules when providing electronically-printed receipts directly to consumers. The legislation requires that certain information is truncated, or shortened, in order to prevent credit card identity theft.

The first receipt rule to protect against credit card identity theft is that no more than the last five digits of a consumer’s credit card or debit card account number may appear on the receipt. Less than this, such as the last four digits, may appear on the receipt, but any digits beyond the last five digits of the account number must not be shown.

The second rule designed to protect consumers against credit card identity theft with respect to electronically printed receipts is that no part of the credit or debit card’s expiration date may appear on the receipt. The area indicating the expiration date may be left blank, or asterisks or other symbols may appear in its place.

What if a Receipt Puts a Consumer at Risk of Credit Card Identity Theft?

If a business does not adhere to the laws set forth by FACTA, it could face serious penalties for placing consumers at risk of credit card identity theft. Businesses may have to pay up to $1000 for each violation of FACTA.

If a business has a new credit card processing system that has not been properly set up, thousands of transactions may post per day, or even per hour for very large companies, and these penalties could quickly add up in a class action lawsuit. Some companies have had to pay millions of dollars in order to settle claims of FACTA violations that could have ended in credit card identity theft.

If you are in possession of a receipt that violates FACTA by having more than the last five digits of your account number printed or by having any portion of your expiration date of your account printed, you may be eligible to take legal action against the company even if you were not an actual victim of credit card identity theft.

An attorney can provide you with a free case review and consultation to help determine your eligibility to take legal action to prevent yourself and others from falling victim to credit card identity theft.

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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