UAE | General

Credit card receipts offer goldmine of data for fraudsters

Customers seek improved security features

  • Published: 00:00 July 7, 2006
  • Gulf News

By Daniel Bardsley

Staff Reporter

Dubai Shoppers have raised concerns that their full personal information is detailed on credit card receipts, saying they could fall prey to fraudsters if the papers are lost.

Credit card companies emphasise they have been recommending for "many years" that at least some digits are blanked out but many retailers have yet to comply, breaching best practice guidelines.

Blanked out

The amount of information on credit card receipts varies between different point-of-sale terminals, with the number of digits blanked out varying between zero and 12. Many give complete information.

Both Visa and MasterCard have been pressing acquiring banks and retailers to suppress the printing of at least four of the digits.

Since April 2005 Visa has insisted that all new point-of-sale terminals must blank out at least four digits and the company says that from April 2007 all companies must carry this out. The organisation described the suppression of at least four digits as "best practice" and said it has recommended it for all point-of-sale terminals for "many years".

MasterCard had also introduced similar demands in April last year.

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