Privacy Protections in FACTA

When you get a receipt at a store, you may not know that the information on the receipt is regulated under a federal law.

Privacy protections in FACTA, or the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, safeguard consumers from fraud and identity theft.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was signed into law in 2003 by President George W. Bush as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. FACTA does a few things:

1. FACTA allows consumers to request and obtain a free credit report one time every twelve months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies,
2. FACTA helps protect consumers from identity theft, and
3. FACTA also requires that vital information be disposed of properly.

Privacy Protections in FACTA

Because receipts from credit transactions can contain sensitive financial information, privacy protections in FACTA require that retailers follow certain strict guidelines when printing receipts.

These rules are to help protect consumers from credit fraud and the kind of identity theft that can occur when a thief has important pieces of financial information.

FACTA makes sure that merchants follow these rules and if they do not, they may have to pay serious fines.

Retailers may violate FACTA by including any portion of the expiration date on the customer receipt, or including any numbers other than the last 5 digits of the credit card or debit card number on the receipt.

No part of the credit card or debit card number existing outside of the last five digits may be printed anywhere on the customer receipt. Privacy protections in FACTA make sure that only the last five digits (or less) can be printed.

Privacy protections in FACTA require that numbers be hidden, or truncated, on a customer receipt. They are usually replaced with a “#” or “*”symbol. This is so the numbers of the credit or debit card number are not revealed.

Sometimes merchants do not execute this process in the way that they should and because of this, expose consumers to potential identity theft.

FACTA says that “no person that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of 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.”

Notably, FACTA rules apply to every customer receipt that is printed electronically. If a customer believes that his or her receipt has been printed inaccurately and that the retailer is in willful or negligent violation of FACTA, they may be able to file a lawsuit.

The expiration date of a credit or debit card should also be hidden on the receipt. In fact, no part of the expiration date may appear on the receipt at all.

If you believe you have been the subject of a violation of privacy protections in FACTA, you may be entitled to compensation. An experienced FACTA attorney can help you with your case.

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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