Don't let credit card numbers slip away

Herb Weisbaum • Profile • E-mail

I constantly go to stores that print my entire credit card number on the slip they will keep, so I cross out the numbers. I thought it was the law that credit card slips could not have the full card number, but had to have something like xxxxxx4991.  Am I correct?
- Madge, Chestertown, Md.

It seems strange, but federal law only requires the credit card or debit card number to be truncated (shortened) on the copy of the receipt the customer gets, not the one the merchant keeps.

According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act the customer copy of an electronically printed credit or debit card receipt cannot show more than the last five digits of the account number. And the expiration date must be deleted. The law does not apply to handwritten or imprinted card slips.

The idea is to keep your account information away from identity thieves if you lose or throw away that receipt. But there’s no guarantee the merchant’s copy won’t get into the wrong hands.

“Having a pile of receipts stacked by the register with credit card numbers on them is a real temptation for a dishonest employee,” says Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. “The number should be truncated in on both copies,” she says.

But doesn’t the merchant need that number? No. If the credit card has already been processed using the electronic scanner, there’s no need for the full number to be on either slip. I checked with the major credit card companies and they verified this. In fact, many retailers already shorten the number on both copies voluntarily, and I commend them for this.

Fact file: Credit card law President Bush signed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act into law in December 2003. “This law will make sure that slips of paper that most people throw away do not contain their credit card number, a key to their financial identities,” the White House said in a news release. For more information: FTC rules on credit card truncation Expedited Funds Availability Act (.pdf)

What should you do when the merchant’s receipt has the entire account number? It’s easy to cross out all but the last 5 digits when you’re at a restaurant, once the server walks away. But it may be impossible to do that at the checkout counter. I’ve heard from numerous people who tried to do this and were told by the sales clerk that if they did, the transaction would be terminated.

Identity theft is rampant, and the current law doesn’t make any sense to me. Like Madge, I’m worried about the receipt left behind, the one with my credit card number on it.

A few years ago, I had my credit card number stolen while on trip to New York. I only used that card twice, at two delis that printed the full account number on their copy of the receipt. Why didn’t I cross out the number? I was paying at the register and decided not to make a scene. Silly me! By the time the credit card company fraud department contacted me and closed the account, thousands of dollars in charges had been made. I wasn’t out anything, but in the end we all pay for this fraud.

I think it’s time Congress revisits this issue. I want the law to require my account number be removed from both copies of a credit card receipt. I know a lot of people feel the same way. But I honestly don’t expect Congress to do anything. So that leaves you — and me — with two options: avoid merchants who print the number on their receipts (if you know about it) or cross out the numbers, if possible, when it comes time to pay.

Print this Email this Blog this  IM this

MORE FROM CONSUMERMAN

ConsumerMan Section Front

ConsumerMan: No such thing as a free HDTV ConsumerMan: Travel clubs — Deal or no deal ConsumerMan: Protect your GPS unit from thieves Are you a green consumer? Take the quiz ConsumerMan: Planes will be packed this summer ConsumerMan Section Front   Add ConsumerMan headlines to your news reader: