Trader Joe’s agrees to $7.4M settlement

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Trader Joe’s has agreed to a $7.4 million settlement over allegations that some receipts printed too much card information, which could have exposed customers to identity-theft risk. Customers who used a credit or debit card at certain Trader Joe’s locations between March and July 2019 may be eligible to file a claim, even if they did not suffer identity theft.

What the case says

The lawsuit claims some receipts showed more digits of card numbers than allowed by law, while Trader Joe’s denies wrongdoing and says it settled to avoid a longer legal fight. Reports estimate about 757,000 card numbers may have been affected.

Payout details

Published estimates put the average claim around $102.45, though actual payments could be lower after fees and the number of valid claims are accounted for. One report says customers have until June 6 to submit a claim, with a court approval hearing later scheduled for August 10.

Why it matters

This is a typical consumer-data settlement: the company does not admit liability, but affected shoppers may still be able to recover a small payout if they qualify. The main issue is that merchants are generally not supposed to print more than the last five digits of a card number on receipts.