FACTA - Reduce the Risk of Identity Theft

What is FACTA and why was it designed?

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA or FACT Act) is designed to reduce the risk of consumer fraud and identity theft created by the improper disposal of consumer information. FACTA provisions require businesses to adopt procedures for the secure destruction of consumer reports and the information derived from them. These requirements are a critical part of any identity theft prevention strategy for businesses handling sensitive consumer data.

What you should know about the FACTA Disposal Rule

According to the FACTA Disposal Rule, consumer information that has outlived its lifecycle must be properly destroyed prior to disposal. The FACTA Disposal Rule mandates that businesses or individuals in possession of consumer information must take reasonable steps to protect the information from unauthorized access or use. Noncompliance with the FACTA Disposal Rule can result in fines and penalties.

What violations can mean for your business

FACTA provides for substantial civil liability. In some cases, consumers may be entitled to recover the actual damages sustained as a result of the violation. In other cases, each consumer affected may be able to recover statutory damages of up to $1,000.

Where large numbers of consumers are affected, they may be able to bring class action lawsuits seeking potentially massive statutory damages. Courts are also authorized to award punitive damages in either an individual suit or a class action. Finally, a successful plaintiff, or class of plaintiffs, may recover reasonable attorneys’ fees.

In some violation cases, the federal government can bring an action in federal district court for up to $2,500 in penalties for each independent violation of the rule. The states are also authorized to bring actions on behalf of their residents and, in appropriate cases, may recover up to $1,000 for each willful or negligent violation of the rule.

In addition to maintaining NAID AAA certified and PCI DSS compliant shredding facilities, we:

• Have many locations that can accommodate both mobile and plant-based destructions.
• Help ensure full FACTA compliance, along with adherence to other state and federal privacy regulations.
• Offer scalable and flexible solutions that work around your preferred schedules.
• Destroy computer equipment and many other digital media forms.
• Provide a Certificate of Destruction to ensure you meet your FACTA compliance requirements.

Access Records Management Can Help

Organizations within every industry, and of every size, can benefit from Access’ secure records destruction solutions.