Recently a caller to the office of CNWeekly News inquired if it was illegal for restaurants to print credit card receipts that reveal the full account number of a customer’s credit card. She had gone to a Chinese restaurant where her entire account number had been printed on her receipt, and she was not satisfied with the repose she got when she complained about this.

Frankly, we were uncertain as to the answer, as on checking this complaint we discovered that while the majority of businesses, including gas stations, and retail stores only printed receipts indicating showing the last four digits of customer’s credit card account numbers, a few did print the entire number on the receipts.

Those businesses that printed only the last four numbers said that it was a security measure to protect the customer against fraudulent actions on their credit cards, and this was being done in accordance with a new federal law. However, those who printed all the numbers said that there was no policy against printing all the numbers.

Further investigation by CNWeekly News revealed that the problem of disclosing too much of a customer’s account information on credit card receipts is a wide one, and according to recent reports, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed nationally, including a few in South Florida. These lawsuits are alleging that some businesses, including restaurants and retail stores, have been violating federal law by issuing receipts with the owner’s full credit card account number, and the card’s expiration date.

Following up on this report CNWeekly News has discovered that consumers do have the right to pursue damages of $100 to $1,000 for each time a business failed to comply with an existing federal law, and it doesn’t matter if the consumer was a victim of fraud or identity theft.

The community has become increasingly wary of the security implications in the use of credit cards with well-publicized reports of the increase in incidences of credit card fraud and identity thefts. Carl Dixon, a Caribbean-American resident of Sunrise, told CNWeekly News that he is particularly leery of tendering credit cards in restaurants, as he has learned of incidences where the staff at some restaurants copy the credit card information – account number and expiration date, and use this information illegally. “I always use cash in restaurants,” Dixon said.

In an effort to militate against credit card fraud, the federal government passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act in 2003. This act requires businesses to delete the credit card’s expiration date and all electronically printed receipts issued at points of sale, except for the four or five last digits of the account number. While the majority of businesses are issuing receipts with the account number displayed as a series of twelve x’s followed by the last four number of the 16 digit credit card number, some businesses are not complying with the act, which gave them until Dec 1, 2006 to comply.

Those businesses failing to comply with the act are susceptible to Federal Trade Commission law-enforcement action, and in accordance with the law, have consumers exercise the right to sue these businesses for damages.

Based on CNWeekly News’ investigations those companies, like the Chinese restaurant in Margate, which the caller to the newspaper’s offices complained about, are not cognizant of the 2006 law, as according what this paper has learned, the FTC has never taken any action against violators of the law. At the same time very few consumers are even aware that such a law exists.

With the recent publicity given to the lawsuits against several popular business across the nation, including here in South Florida, it can be expected that more people will begin filing law suits against businesses that do not comply with the 2003 law. “Make no bones about it,” said Dixon, “If I should receive a receipt showing the full credit card account number or/and the card’s expiration date. I am going to call my lawyer right way. It’s ridiculous that a law is there to protect the consumer against credit card fraud, and some businesses choose to ignore it.”