143 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
143 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
===== Phrack Magazine presents Phrack 16 =====
|
|
===== File 5 of 12 =====
|
|
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
| The Laws Governing Credit Card Fraud |
|
|
| |
|
|
| Written by Tom Brokaw |
|
|
| September 19, 1987 |
|
|
| |
|
|
| Written exclusively for: |
|
|
| Phrack Magazine |
|
|
| |
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
(A Tom Brokaw/Disk Jockey Law File Production)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Introduction:
|
|
------------
|
|
|
|
In this article, I will try to explain the laws concerning the illegal
|
|
use of credit cards. Explained will be the Michigan legislative view on the
|
|
misuse and definition of credit cards.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Definition:
|
|
----------
|
|
|
|
Well, Michigan Law section 157, defines a credit card as "Any instrument
|
|
or device which is sold, issued or otherwise distributed by a business
|
|
organization identified thereon for obtaining goods, property, services or
|
|
anything of value." A credit card holder is defined as: 1) "The person or
|
|
organization who requests a credit card and to whom or for whose benefit a
|
|
credit card is subsequently issued" or 2) "The person or organization to whom
|
|
a credit card was issued and who uses a credit card whether the issuance of
|
|
the credit card was requested or not." In other words, if the company or
|
|
individual is issued a card, once using it, they automatically agree to all
|
|
the laws and conditions that bind it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stealing, Removing, Retaining or Concealment:
|
|
--------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Michigan Law states, that it is illegal to "steal, knowingly take or
|
|
remove a credit card from a card holder." It also states that it is wrongful
|
|
to "conceal a credit card without the consent of the card holder." Notice
|
|
that it doesn't say anything about carbons or numbers acquired from BBSes,
|
|
but I think that it could be considered part of the laws governing the access
|
|
of a persons account without the knowledge of the cardholder, as described
|
|
above.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Possession with Intent to Circulate or Sell
|
|
-------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
The law states that it is illegal to possess or have under one's control,
|
|
or receive a credit card if his intent is to circulate or sell the card. It
|
|
is also illegal to deliver, circulate or sell a credit card, knowing that such
|
|
a possession, control or receipt without the cardholders consent, shall be
|
|
guilty of a FELONY. Notice again, they say nothing about possession of
|
|
carbons or numbers directly. It also does not clearly state what circulation
|
|
or possession is, so we can only stipulate. All it says is that possession of
|
|
a card (material plastic) is illegal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fraud, forgery, material alteration, counterfeiting.
|
|
----------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
However, it might not be clearly illegal to possess a carbon or CC
|
|
number. It IS illegal to defraud a credit card holder. Michigan law states
|
|
that any person who, with intent to defraud, forge, materially alter or
|
|
counterfeit a credit card, shall be guilty of a felony.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revoked or cancelled card, use with intent to defraud.
|
|
------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
This states that "Any person who knowingly and with intent to defraud for
|
|
the purpose of obtaining goods, property or services or anything of value on a
|
|
credit card which has been revoked or cancelled or reported stolen by the
|
|
issuer or issuee, has been notified of the cancellation by registered or
|
|
certified mail or by another personal service shall be fined not more than
|
|
$1,000 and not imprisoned not more than a year, or both. However, it does not
|
|
clearly say if it is a felony or misdemeanor or civil infraction. My guess is
|
|
that it would be dependant on the amount and means that you used and received
|
|
when you defraud the company. Usually, if it is under $100, it is a
|
|
misdemeanor but if it is over $100, it is a felony. I guess they figure that
|
|
you should know these things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The People of The State of Michigan vs. Anderson (possession)
|
|
------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
On April 4, 1980, H. Anderson attempted to purchase a pair of pants at
|
|
Danny's Fashion Shops, in the Detroit area. He went up to the cashier to pay
|
|
for the pants and the cashier asked him if he had permission to use the credit
|
|
card. He said "No, I won it last night in a card game". The guy said that I
|
|
could purchase $50 dollars worth of goods to pay back the debt. At the same
|
|
time, he presumed the card to be a valid one and not stolen. Well, as it
|
|
turned out it was stolen but he had no knowledge of this. Later, he went to
|
|
court and pleased guilty of attempted possession of a credit card of another
|
|
with intent or circulate or sell the same. At the guilty hearings, Mr.
|
|
Anderson stated that the credit card that he attempted to use had been
|
|
acquired by him in payment of a gambling debt and assumed that the person was
|
|
the owner. The trial court accepted his plea of guilty. At the sentencing,
|
|
Mr. Anderson, denied that he had any criminal intent. Anderson appealed the
|
|
decision stating that the court had erred by accepting his plea of guilty on
|
|
the basis of insufficient factual data. Therefore, the trial court should not
|
|
have convicted him of attempted possession and reversed the charges.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The People of the State of Michigan vs. Willie Dockery
|
|
------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
On June 23, 1977, Willie Dockery attempted to purchase gas at a Sears gas
|
|
station by using a stolen credit card. The attendant noticed that his
|
|
driver's license picture was pasted on and notified the police. Dockery
|
|
stated that he had found the credit card and the license at an intersection,
|
|
in the city of Flint. He admitted that he knowingly used the credit card and
|
|
driver's license without the consent of the owner but he said that he only had
|
|
purchased gasoline on the card. It turns out that the credit card and
|
|
driver's license was stolen from a man, whose grocery store had been robbed.
|
|
Dockery said that he had no knowledge of the robbery and previous charges on
|
|
the cardwhich totalled$1,373.21. He admitted that he did paste his picture
|
|
on the driver's license. Butagain the court screws up, they receive evidence
|
|
that the defendant had a record of felonies dating back to when he was sixteen
|
|
and then assumed that he was guilty on the basis of his prior offenses. The
|
|
judge later said that the present sentence could not stand in this court so
|
|
the case was referred to another court.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conclusion
|
|
----------
|
|
|
|
I hope that I have given you a better understanding about the law, that
|
|
considers the illegal aspects of using credit cards. All this information was
|
|
taken from The Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated Volume 754.157a-s and from The
|
|
Michigan Appeals Report.
|
|
|
|
In my next file I will talk about the laws concerning Check Fraud.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-Tom Brokaw
|