Facts on FACTA
According to a survey of small business owners by zTelligence and Fellowes,
most small business owners don't know anything about FACTA legislation, let
alone what it means for their business. When asked what acts or legislation
were familiar to them, only 13.1% of respondents recognized FACTA. In fact,
FACTA was the least recognized response in the grouping of recently passed
privacy legislation!
Originally enacted in 2003 with the new disposal provision effective June 1,
2005, FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit
Transaction Act) gives more rights to victims
of identity theft and places more responsibility on large and small business
owners to destroy personal information that could be used by identity thieves.
Personal information means everything from names and phone numbers to social
security numbers, credit reports, addresses and employee history.
With FACTA, Congress is attempting to curb the financial losses and emotional
distress associated with identity theft. The new provision also sends a message
to business owners nationwide that if someone's identity is stolen and the
company is found liable, the company can be sued by an individual, embroiled in
a class action law suit or fined up to $1,000 by the state, and up to $2,500
per infraction by the federal government. Those may not sound like excessive
fines, but most identity thieves don't steal just one name, they steal as many
as they can.
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