What to Look For on Your Receipt to Prevent Being Scammed

What do you do with your receipt?

"The first thing you want to do if you make a credit card transaction, is look at that receipt," said Jim Temmer, President BBB Serving Wisconsin.

Jim Temmer, President of the BBB says you should look specifically at the last four or five numbers of the receipt.

"If your expiration date is on  there, if your entire credit card number is one there, those are both red flags and you need to talk to that company," said Temmer.

If a business prints more than the last 5 digits on your credit card, someone could use the information to buy things and put your financial information at risk overall. The business would also be breaking a federal law called FACTA.

Only two FACTA cases have gone to trial in the United States. The most recent one was against a Lake Geneva motel

The Geneva Wells Motel was known as the Budget Host Diplomat Hotel when they were sued in 2008. The case wasn't settled until 2015. 

"The motel had hired a credit card processor to process their receipts and payments... the client in my case not aware of FACTA... He was giving out receipts with full credit card numbers and expiration dates for years," said Attorney James Borcia, a partner with Tressler LLP in Chicago.

Borcia won the case for the motel because the small business was relying on the credit card processor to follow the law.

But if you find compromising information on your receipt, talk to the business before taking them to court. 

"You can just say, 'Hey there's information on here that puts you in violation of the FACTA law," said Temmer.

The motel in Lake Geneva changed the way it printed receipts after the problem was brought to their attention.

"There's no reason if they had known the law they would not have complied with it," said Borcia.

FACTA violations often happen because of a glitch in the system or the small businesses isn't aware of the law.

"Most retailers want to make their customers happy. They want you to come back there. They don't want to lose you. They don't want to put your information at risk," said Temmer.

Kohl's department stores are currently in the middle of a FACTA lawsuit. In June 2016, a California man filed a class action case, saying his Kohl's receipt included the expiration date on his credit card.