FACTA Receipt Rules Allow for Partial Account Number to Be Seen

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) was passed in late November 2003 by the U.S. Congress. It is an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. FACTA has elements which seek to protect the American consumer from threats of identity theft which have become prevalent over the last two decades.

Among those elements are rules governing what credit card information can appear on a credit-based printed transaction receipt. Under FACTA only the partial account number can appear and only in a specific manner.

The rules governing the truncation of a full to partial account number are very specific, however. Retail and other businesses providing credit card transaction receipts are only allowed to print the partial account number of a credit card, showing no more than the last five digits. The other digits may be replaced by placeholder symbols such as hashtags or keyboard stars.

The credit transaction receipt printing rules which govern the printing of only a partial account number also specifically prohibit any reference to the credit card’s expiration date in any form. The combination of these two requirements when adhered to work together to deter any efforts to locate specific credit card data in a process of elimination.

Businesses that Violate FACTA Receipt Requirements

Under the stipulations of FACTA, the failure to adhere to the specific requirements of partial account number credit card receipt printing can be a costly mistake. Statutory damages can run from $100 to $1,000 per violation.

While individually these fines may seem minimal, a company can be slapped with a FACTA class action lawsuit involving multiple plaintiffs if they routinely overlook these rules. If plaintiffs in a class action are given a favorable decision in the face of evidence, the aggregate charges can truly damage a company’s budget.

Violations of partial account number printing on a credit card transaction receipt can be subtle and easy to miss if not carefully reviewed periodically. Since only the last five consecutive digits of an account number can appear, the following could be considered compliance failure examples:

1***-****-****-5649

####-####-##4#-8872

****-**3*-****-7562

For a partial account number to appear correctly, it should look like this—with either placeholder symbol allowed:

####-####-###0-0977

FACTA receipt rules compliance failure when it comes to the printing of a credit card expiration date is more straightforward in that absolutely no reference to this data is allowed. Here are common infraction examples:

022022

Ex05/2020

Expir:06-2021

Other FACTA Elements to Prevent Identity Theft

In addition to credit card receipt printing rules, FACTA seeks to curtail identity theft by allowing consumers access to a free copy of their credit report annually. This gives the individual the ability, without consideration of cost, to review credit transactions to determine their validity on a regular basis.

Secondly, deploying military servicemen and servicewomen can set up alerts on their credit reports indicating that they are currently on active duty in case an attempt is made to open credit using their personally identifiable information (PII).

Together, these elements work to protect American citizens. If you have been the victim of identity theft or just have note FACTA receipt violations that have put you in a vulnerable position, you may be able to join a free FACTA class action lawsuit investigation.

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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