What is FACTA and how does it affect Records Management?

In lieu of the recent Capital One data breach, FACTA compliance has started to come up more and more in industry news. The breach affected around 100 million people in the United States and about 6 million people in Canada, according to Capital One.

Data breaches are not uncommon, they seem to happen multiple times a year. They rarely affect this many people, however. In 2017, hackers stole personal data on more than 147 million people in a breach at the credit-reporting company Equifax. In 2013, about 40 million customers’ credit and debit card information was stolen through a Target security breach. Target paid $18.5 million to settle the case with State Attorneys General. More reliance on technology will bring more options for individuals to take advantage of security systems. It’s up to companies and corporations to keep their data safe. 

So, what is FACTA?

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act or FACTA) is a United States federal law, passed by the United States Congress on November 22, 2003 as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The act allows consumers to request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies (EquifaxExperian, and TransUnion).

So how does it affect Records Management?

FACTA guarantees that businesses are taking precautions to prevent identity theft. All businesses should have a records destruction plan. You should have a regular schedule for shredding. Since FACTA has strict requirements for credit card information, any records that contain secure information should be shredded, leaving no chance of violating FACTA regulations. Your schedule should specify which records should be shredded and in what timeframe. We’ve listed out every state’s record retention schedule’s here, but you should also check on your specific industry. Some industries like healthcare and financial may have slightly different timeframes than let’s say, retail.

Written policies are important

Your company’s handbook should cover policies for shredding and record maintenance. Written policies help you stay within compliance of the regulations and keep records secure. Consider using a Document Management Service to help create a retention schedule for all your records.

Get free quotes on document shredding and document management services from Crown Records Management

For a quote or general inquiries on how your business can stay compliant with FACTA and any other new regulations, find an office nearest to you, using our find an office pages.