‘Tis the Season for Credit Card Fraud Charges

The holiday season always sees a rise in property crimes, as people become even more desperate trying to “keep up with the Joneses,” or just trying to provide a decent holiday season for their family. Whatever the reason, much of the fraudulent activity on credit cards throughout the year occurs during the holiday season, so it is a good time to review the various prohibited behavior.

Illinois Credit Card Fraud Laws

The Illinois statute prohibiting credit card fraud prohibits and penalizes many different crimes, all of which stem from the wrongful possession, use, or sale of a credit or debit card. All of the following are prohibited by law:

• Making a false statement to obtain a credit or debit card. To be charged with this crime, you must have made a statement that is known to be false by you at the time you made it, made with the intent that the false statement will be relied on for the credit or debit card to be issued.
• Possession of the credit or debit card of another person. To be charged with this, you must possess the debit or credit card without the cardholder’s consent, or have received such a card knowingly obtained without the cardholder’s consent with the intent to either use it, sell it, or transfer it to another person.
• Possession of a lost credit or debit card. You can be charged with this if you retain possession of a lost or stolen credit card with the intent to use it, sell it, or transfer it to another person.
• Sale or purchase of a credit or debit card. You can be charged with this if you sell or purchase a debit or credit card without the consent of the issuer, if you know that the issuer did not give consent.
• Use of a credit or debit card as a security instrument for a debt. To be charged with this, you must either have control over a credit or debit card as security for a debit, or transfer control of the card as debt security with the intent to defraud the issuer or another person.
• Use of a credit or debit card that is either counterfeit, forged, expired, revoked, or unissued. To be charged with this crime, you must be accused of using an unlawfully obtained credit or debit card, or one kept without the cardholder’s consent, or one that is known to be a counterfeit, forgery, expired, or revoked. The purpose must be to obtain an item of value by fraudulently purporting to be the holder of the card.
• Use of a credit or debit card with intent to defraud. If you use a credit card with the intent to defraud the issuer, or allow another person to use a card for that reason, you can be charged with this crime. For this and the infractions listed in subsection (6), all that needs to happen for the crime to be committed is for the card to be used with the intent to defraud. Whether or not anything of value is obtained is irrelevant. 

The Law Offices of David Freidberg Can Help You

Every case is different, and if you are facing charges relating to credit card fraud as described in any of the above categories, and you are in or around the Chicago or DuPage area, it is important to contact an experienced credit card fraud attorney. Contact us today at 312-560-7100 or email us, and let us help you with your credit card fraud case.