Credit Card slips - am I the only one that does this?

[LynneSin]

In the states, most of the time when you use your credit card, only the last four digits of the card shows up on the slip. However; if I see the entire number, I use my pen and scratch it out - slips end up in the garbage and the number could be stolen and reused. In fact, this was a suggestion from my company which happens to be a credit card company.

Now I've used my credit card here in Canada a few times and only one other time I saw my full card number on the slip and I went ahead and scratched it out. But today I found a new computer bag I wanted to buy and used my credit card but this time when I scratched out the number, the lady behind the counter had a hissy fit. She claimed she needed that number in case there was a dispute and that credit card companies have told her that this shouldn't be done (Geez - I work for a CC company, you'd think I'd know!)

So, does anyone else scratch out their credit card number if the whole thing shows up on the receipt slip?

[LSK]

1. if its your copy of the receipt, its a good idea

and I dont see what the problem is. I dont know about their copy of the receipt. Then again I rarely use credit cards except for only purchases so what do I know?

[LynneSin]

4. It was for both slips

Mine I keep pretty tight but you never know with a store what would happen with it. The store has no reason to have my full credit card on their slip, especially when the sign behind the counter says "No Refunds or Exchanges".

I'm not questioning that they would steal my number, but things happen and I like to play it safe

[Broken_Hero]

2. I shred all of mine, to be honest, and then burn them

that type of info, I'm wary of letting others know...

[Kutjara]

3. Definitely not.

Leaving your full credit card number on a slip that you throw away is tantamount to inviting the world to rip you off. I was a victim of identity theft and it took me four years to clean my credit report. I very nearly ended up being responsible for a $15k debt, and probably would have if the thief had got hold of a sample of my signature too. Fortunately for me, the subsequent investigation revealed a completely different signature on the purchase slips. As it was, the thief got my details from an electricity bill and credit card slip that I'd stupidly thrown away together. This was all it took to get credit cards, store cards, mobile phones and bank loans in my name. I learned my lesson the hard way. Now I have a personal shredder at home that reduces what I put into it to confetti. Let the bastards try to reconstruct that.

The woman who had a fit is, to use a technical term, an idiot.

[Book Lover]

5. You are not alone

I do it too, and I'll do it for the final four digits as well. Hello! This woman never heard of identity theft?

[nosillies]

6. It was my understanding that the SOX act has made it illegal for

all digits to print out on a receipt. Of course, that wouldn't apply in Canada, but I'm not quite sure if the store you mention was in Canada or the US.

[LynneSin]

13. It was Canadian

Which to be honest, I know about the SOX act but didn't think about it. It was just something my company, a major credit card corporation, suggested as a 'best practice'. The woman insisted she had to run the receipt again so I'll be on a look-out for extra charges

[alarimer]

7. I check but have never seen the whole number

On the other hand, on my grocery receipts, the clerk's SS number (which I guess they use to log in to the cash register) IS printed at the bottom of my receipts. I would think that the grocery store would eliminate that from printing somehow.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. Wow...she's an idiot.

That's all I have to add.

[hickman]

9. Next time ask for her/his full name, and ask to see I.D.

Write it down and tell her/him that if your identity is ever stolen they're on the list you'll be turning into the police. The machine is supposed to record your numbers. Why would she need a hard copy of them?

[greatauntoftriplets]

10. Hey!! I have a love letter from your company here....

What else could it be???

:shrug:

I shred credit card slips. After they moulder in a drawer for a few months.

[sbj405]

11. Funny you should post this tonight

Tonight at the bar, a drunk guy was arguing with the bartender about his cc number being on the slip. It was only printed on the slip that the restaurant keeps. Makes sense - if the transactions doesn't run or there's some other error, they have a hard copy. Remember the good ole days when they rubbed your card (heck some places still do), no one seemed to mind their full cc number being out there.

[MrSlayer]

12. I rip it out of the receipt.

Same thing, different method.

[tandot]

14. I always put mine through the shredder. I am paranoid about that.

[Dangerously Amused]

15. Say there's a problem with the transaction at the CC end.

A computer glitch, operator error, whatever. CC company calls Store and says, "Sorry Store, there's been a problem with this transaction. We'll transfer the money from Consumer's account to yours but we need the transaction information again. Can you check your records and re-enter it please?" Without your account number, which you scratched out, how will the store ever get their money?

[Serial Mom]

16. There is an authorization number with each transaction

so blocking out the full number on store's receipt is OK.

From the Visa site:

In another step toward fighting fraud, Visa announced on March 6, 2003 its account truncation security policy, which protects consumers from identity theft by limiting cardholders' information on receipts to the last four digits of their accounts. The policy will also eliminate the card's expiration date from receipts altogether. Visa was the first payments brand to announce such a move.

Visa announced its truncation policy at a press conference with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who has introduced legislation to combat identity theft. "By requiring account numbers to be truncated, Visa is joining in the fight against identity theft, setting a new industry standard for the protection of personal information," Feinstein said.

[Dangerously Amused]

18. Okay, but my hypothetical considers a situation

...in which the CC company either never got, or lost the electronic information regarding the transaction. If Store needs to prove that the transaction took place in order to be reimbursed, how will the authorization number help if there is no record of the account number to which the charges apply?

I'm not trying to be difficult, BTW. Just trying to work through the problem.


:hi:

[Serial Mom]

22. A truncated number is still there in the database

just not shown on the slip... so that should not pose a problem with the CC company - sort of like hiding a password with ******, it knows what the numbers are.

And the authorization number is usually in the store's computer or coded on receipt, so if all your numbers don't show on their receipt, no problem there.

And if all is lost (your scenario), I dont' have to pay (sorry to store owners, but hey)!

[tjwmason]

17. Always the last 4 digits over here.

plus I never sign - we're onto "chip and PIN" so don't get chance to scrawl on the shop's copy. I wouldn't leave the whole number free to go into a bin or something like that - might as well just leave my card in the street and not report it missing.

[Frank Cannon]

19. Of course you should do that

I haven't seen the full number show up on a slip in a long time (they have cross-referenced authorization numbers now), but I shred every slip as a precaution. If a full number did show up and I didn't have access to a shredder, I'd obliterate it the same way you did.

[I Have A Dream]

20. I do the same thing that you do. I cross all but the last 4 digits...

on the store's copy as well. Nobody's ever said anything to me. I also cross out the expiration date on the store's copy.

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. I live by the seat of my pants which means I won't be able to complain

here when somebody steals my credit. I'm so lazy sometimes that I annoy me.

[we can do it]

23. I Do It Too

I really don't know why she flipped out.