FACTA Laws Include Credit Card Fraud Protection for Receipts

Credit card fraud protection is an important aspect of keeping your identity safe from identity thieves.

When a consumer purchases goods at a brick-and-mortar retailer, they are handed a receipt. Many consumers simply place the receipt in their pocket or purse or even discard it in a trash receptacle without looking at it. It is important for consumers to look at the receipt to make sure the information included on the receipt does not leave them vulnerable to identity theft.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003 requires retailers follow rules to ensure consumer credit card fraud protection. Only the last five digits of the credit card or debit card number should appear on the customer’s receipt. The receipt should never contain even a portion of the card’s expiration number.

Credit Card Fraud Protection Helps Consumers

FACTA says, “no person that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of a business shall print more than the last 5 digits of the card number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of the sale or transaction.” The receipt should contain only enough information that both the retailer and the consumer can identify the purchase in the event a return is needed.

Consumers who discover that a retailer has committed a FACTA violation may be in a position to file a lawsuit and recoup monetary damages.

When a receipt reveals only the card’s last five digits, credit card fraud protection is improved because the combinations of numbers that would precede the last five are too numerous for an identity theft or fraudster to guess the entire number.

An identity thief’s ability to figure out a consumer’s card information is further made difficult when the expiration date is not revealed. FACTA regulations are intended to make it virtually impossible for a fraudster to accurately configure the card number and expiration date of any particular card.

Even though FACTA was enacted in 2003, businesses received a grace period until December 2006 to become compliant. In some cases, the deadline was extended until June 2008. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent notices to all retailers a minimum of three times in 2007, reminding them to truncate (abbreviate) card and debit card information that appeared on consumers’ receipts.

Retailers who have failed to provide consumers with credit card fraud protections because they have refused to honor FACTA have been taken to court in many cases. A company called PC Richard & Son LLC settled a FACTA case after a woman alleged her receipt included her credit card’s expiration date. The terms of the settlement have not been revealed.

In another situation, Doctor’s Associates Inc. faced five different FACTA lawsuits due to allegedly failing to ensure credit card fraud protection. The company owns a Subway sandwich shop that allegedly included the credit card’s expiration date on printed receipts. Businesses that fail to ensure credit card fraud protection by following FACTA’s laws can also be held accountable by the Federal Trade Commission.

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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