Are MLB Baseball Parks Printing Private Information on Receipts?

Identity theft is on the rise as new technology makes it easier to collect information about individuals. One of the ways in which identity theft can occur is when a person’s credit and debit card numbers make it into the wrong hands.

This can happen in surprisingly simple and low-tech ways, like printing too many digits of a credit or debit card number on receipts. This information can be used to commit fraud or identity theft.

Major League Baseball parks (MLB) may be printing too much information on the credit and debit receipts that they give back to consumers.

Notably, the Los Angeles Dodgers were just accused of this practice in a class action lawsuit filed by a fan. In his credit-card-number class action lawsuit, the plaintiff, Alex Escobar, notes that sporting and entertainment events are one of the main targets for identity theft.

Escobar said that he purchased Dodgers playoff tickets at Dodger Stadium on or around Oct. 5, 2018. He states that he received an electronically-printed receipt that bore the expiration date and last four digits of his Visa credit card account number and that the inclusion of this information is prohibited by federal law.

Allegedly, other consumers have experienced the same issue and had their personal information exposed to identity theft and fraud at MLB baseball parks.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) aims to protect individuals from credit card theft, identity theft, and other fraud. It requires that vendors print no more than the last five digits of a card number on a receipt. It also prohibits businesses from including any portion of the card’s expiration date. The Federal Trade Commission lays out the guidelines on their website.

The National Conference of State Legislature also notes that many states have their own laws limiting what credit or debit card information may be included on a receipt.

Too much credit card information present on a receipt can expose a person to identity theft. Because of the number of people who go to MLB baseball parks, if a park were to print too many credit or debit card numbers on a receipt, they would expose thousands of people to identity theft.

In his Los Angeles Dodgers class action lawsuit, Escobar argues that Dodger Stadium knew or should have known that the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act prohibits businesses from printing too much of a credit or debit card number on a receipt, but printed it nonetheless.

Escobar argues that Dodger Stadium violated federal law and infringed upon its visitors’ privacy. He goes on to say that the point of sale systems used by Dodger Stadium maintains records of all payment transactions, so the venue has the ability to print duplicates of the receipts that allegedly contain too much information, which he says further exposes visitors to potential identity theft.

The Dodger Stadium Receipts Class Action Lawsuit is Alex Escobar v. Major League Baseball et al., Case No. 18STCV0291, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, Central Division.

Unfortunately, this problem of printing too much information on a receipt is a common one, and more MLB baseball parks than Dodger Stadium may be guilty of doing this. People who went to a baseball park for a range of reasons may be affected. Baseball parks often host events like concerts or other events so, even if you did not see a game, if you went to one or more MLB baseball parks you may have been affected.

You can determine if you may be at risk by looking at your receipts. If the receipt you received from a baseball park contained more than the last five digits of a card number, or any digits other than the last five, your privacy may have been violated.

Join a Free MLB Receipt Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you have a receipt from a MLB baseball park 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 an MLB credit card receipt class action lawsuit.

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