FACTA Statutes Employed to Protect Consumer Information

In 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an alert to business owners that a federal law known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) requires them to truncate electronically processed credit card receipts so that the only card numbers shown are the last five digits.

Furthermore, the expiration date of the credit card cannot be featured anywhere on the receipt. It is important to note that the FACTA receipt rules only applies to electronically printed transaction receipts. Handwritten and imprinted receipts are excluded from these requirements.

What is FACTA?

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act or FACTA is set of federal statutes passed by Congress in 2003, intended to cut down on the ever-growing trend of identity theft within the United States.

FACTA specifically mandates that merchants and retailers adhere to certain criteria in order to protect consumers’ personal information and help prevent credit card fraud and identity theft.

FACTA applies to all forms of electronically printed customer receipts that are printed during a transaction by a cash register, self-service kiosk, or by other means or machines.

Receipts are easily lost or thrown-away by consumers. This is why it falls on businesses to truncate a customer’s information in case the sales receipt is picked up by a possible identity thief.

FACTA was slowly phased into law and required businesses and merchants who already used newer electronic card processors to comply with FACTA statutes by 2004, while businesses with older transaction machines were given until the end of 2006 to comply with the new federal mandate.

FACTA Violations

According to the FTC, identity thieves are able to piece together an individual’s debit or credit card information from a consumer’s receipt if certain information is provided, such as credit card numbers and expiration dates.

In light of this potential security threat to consumers’ financial well-being, FACTA rules restrict the amount of personal information that can be shown on a credit or debit card receipt.

One way businesses can avoid FACTA violations is to mask or hide a consumer’s credit or debit card numbers except for the last five digits of a debit or credit card by substituting the numbers with symbols (like # or *) on the debit or credit card receipts.

It is important for consumers to note that even if less than five digits of a your debit or credit card number are printed on the receipt, a merchant may still be in violation of FACTA, especially if those numbers are not the last five digits. For example, if a credit card receipt shows  **** **** **33 ****, then the retailer has committed a FACTA violation. Additionally, a credit or debit card’s expiration date cannot be printed anywhere on your copy of the sales receipt in any form, though this does not apply to the copy retained by the business.

Business found in violation of FACTA rules could face heavy fines and federal restrictions by the FTC.

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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