IDENTITY THEFT AND CREDIT CARD FRAUD CASES
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. The news has been filled with stories about how personal data have been compromised from certain personal information aggregators.
An increasingly common method of stealing identities is through the theft of credit card numbers or Personal Identification Numbers [PINs].
It is a crime to do any of the following ten offenses listed in section 1029(a):
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, produce, use, or traffic in one or more counterfeit access devices;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, traffic in or use one or more unauthorized access devises during any one-year period, and, by doing so, obtain anything of value aggregating $ 1,000 or more during that period;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, possess fifteen or more devices which are counterfeit or unauthorized access devices;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, produce, traffic in, have control or custody of, or possess device-making equipment;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, effect transactions, with 1 or more access devices issued to another person or persons, to receive payment or any other thing of value during any 1-year period the aggregate value of which is equal to or greater than $ 1,000;
- without the authorization of the issuer of the access device, knowingly, and with intent to defraud, solicit a person for the purpose of either: offering an access device, or selling information regarding or an application to obtain an access device;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, use, produce, traffic in, have control or custody of, or possess a telecommunications instrument that has been modified or altered to obtain unauthorized use of telecommunications services;
- knowingly and with intent to defraud use, produce, traffic in, have control or custody of, or possess a scanning receiver;
- knowingly use, produce, traffic in, have control or custody of, or possess hardware or software, knowing it has been configured to insert or modify telecommunication identifying information associated with or contained in a telecommunications instrument so that such instrument may be used to obtain telecommunications service without authorization; or
- without the authorization of the credit card system member or its agent, knowingly, and with intent to defraud, cause or arrange for another person to present to the member or its agent, for payment, 1 or more evidences or records of transactions made by an access device.
Punishment
If the offense affects interstate or foreign commerce, a person convicted of violating section 1029(a), will be punished in the following manner.
- If the conviction is for a first-time offense under section 1029, and the defendant violated paragraphs 1029(1), (2), (3), (6), (7), or (10)., the punishment will be a fine, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.
- If the conviction is for a first-time offense and the defendant violated paragraphs 1029(4), (5), (8), or (9), the punishment will be a fine, imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or both;
- If the conviction is for a subsequent offense under section 1029, the punishment will be a fine, imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both;
- The defendant will also be forced to forfeit any personal property used or intended to be used to commit the offense.
- An attempt to commit any of the above offenses will be punished in the same manner as if the offense had been completed. Furthermore, a person who is a party to a conspiracy to commit any of the above offenses, that person will be fined up to the maximum allowed, imprisoned for not longer than one-half the maximum period allowed, or both.
