FACTA Offers Consumers Identity Theft Protection

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act was intended to fight fraud and identity theft by giving consumers certain rights if they become an identity theft victim.

One of the ways FACTA can reduce the risk of fraud is to limit the information that can be shown on electronically-printed credit card receipts to the last five digits of the credit or debit card number.

FACTA laws also prohibit the printing of the card’s expiration date on the credit or debit card receipt.

What is FACTA?

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is a federal law enacted in 2004 that states only the last five digits of a credit card number may be printed on a receipt and the receipt must not include the expiration date.

For each willful FACTA violation – each credit and debit card receipt printed – courts are instructed to impose $100 to $1,000 in damages, in addition to possible punitive damages.

How Does FACTA Deter Identity Theft?

Credit card receipts that include full account numbers and expiration dates practically invite identity theft. FACTA was enacted, in part, to address the security practices of merchants who accept payment via credit or debit cards. FACTA targets a very narrow problem – credit card numbers and expiration dates displayed on printed receipts – that presents an enhanced risk to consumers for identity theft and fraud.

The primary purpose is to reduce the risk of identity theft by regulating how consumer account information is handled. Some FACTA consumer protections include:

• The right to a free credit report every year
• Requiring that merchants leave off all but the last five digits of credit card numbers and leave off the card expiration date from credit/debit receipts
• Creating a national system of fraud detection allowing consumers to make only one call to set off a nationwide fraud alert and establishing a nationwide system of fraud alerts for consumers to place on their credit files
• Requiring regulators to devise a list of red flag indicators of identity theft to use in their compliance examinations and requiring lenders and credit agencies to create similar guidelines to identify patterns common to identify theft in an effort to stop theft before it causes major damage

FACTA Lawsuit Information

Any merchant that continues to print non-FACTA compliant receipts could be subject to enormous statutory damages for willful violations of FACTA.

TheFair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act allows prevailing plaintiffs to be awarded actual damages or, in the case of defendants who willfully fail to comply with the law, statutory penalties between $100 and $1,000 per affected consumer.

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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