FACTA Compliance Required for Printed Receipts from Businesses

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is a set of rules that limit the amount of credit card information printed on receipts, thereby helping to keep consumers’ credit card information safe from fraud and identity theft. Consumers can watch for FACTA compliance by checking their printed debit and credit card receipts for certain information that’s restricted under these rules.

These simple checks can help keep your information and the information of hundreds or thousands of others safe—and it may even lead to some financial compensation.

Other Provisions of FACTA

Many consumers may be unaware that FACTA gives them other rights and protections beyond having their credit and debit card numbers truncated on sales receipts. For example, if you have reason to believe you are the victim of identity theft, you have the right to contact consumer reporting agencies and request that a fraud alert be placed on your file for a minimum of three months. Legally, these agencies must comply with such requests, and notify others of the alert. If necessary, you can request that the alert be extended beyond three months; in this case, the fraud alert must be made part of your credit score that is issued for a 7-year period. In addition, the reporting agency is required to exclude you from lists distributed to companies that send out credit and insurance offers. This provision extends to military personnel who are serving on active duty.If you are the victim of identity theft and this damages your credit score and history, you have the right to have your identity and credit history restored. Under FACTA, credit reporting agencies must block all information in your file that you have identified and proven to have been the result of fraudulent activity on your accounts.Another provision of FACTA allows you to get a copy of your credit report once a year, free of charge. It is a good idea to monitor your credit report for indications of fraudulent activity.

FACTA Compliance

FACTA rules were first passed in 2003 in order to protect consumers’ credit card receipt information, and full compliance has been expected from businesses across the country since 2006.

The rules of FACTA are fairly simple—the credit card number and expiration date must be censored in a certain way to protect the information from fraud and identity theft. Under FACTA, no more than the last five digits of a credit card number may be displayed on a receipt. The omitted digits may be replaced by placeholder characters, or they may not appear at all.

Fewer than five digits can be displayed, but they must come from the end of the number. This is a common approach—many businesses choose omit all but the last four digits, as credit card numbers come in four-digit segments.

While this may seem like very little information to necessitate censorship, a credit card number and expiration date may be all a fraudster may need to make fraudulent transactions with that account.

The act requires businesses to update their machines to print receipts with the correct information. This means that if one receipt is improperly censored, the same FACTA violation has likely appeared on any other receipts printed by the same machine, and so the issue may have affected hundreds or even thousands of other consumers.

Thus, being able to spot FACTA violations on credit card receipts can not only protect you, but can also help protect many other customers who have been affected by the same violation.

For the vast majority of businesses, receipt printing is an automated process. Businesses only have to make sure their machines are up-to-date to ensure FACTA compliance. It should be noted that, while hand-written receipts are exempt from these FACTA rules, these are a rare enough phenomenon that it is not generally a concern.

FACTA Lawsuits

Consumers who are familiar with basic knowledge of FACTA requirements are better able to protect their account information from fraud and theft. By reporting FACTA violations, a consumer may even be able to protect the information of others that may have been exposed as well.

Consumers who report violations of FACTA regulations may even be eligible for some kind of financial award. Indeed, FACTA offers statutory damages of up to $1,000 per violation of FACTA receipt rules.

The proof of FACTA violation is found printed clearly on the business’s receipts. Take note of whether or not your receipts follow FACTA regulations for both card numbers and expiration dates. If they do not, then you may be able to file a FACTA lawsuit against the business at fault.

Join a Free Credit Card Receipt Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you have a receipt, invoice or contract from a retailer or vendor that includes more than the last five digits of your credit card or debit card number or any portion of the expiration date, you may qualify to file a credit card receipt class action lawsuit.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.