Consequences If You Commit Credit Card Fraud

Credit card frauds involve stealing another person’s credit card or another person’s personal information to process a new credit card. If you are a victim of the sort, hiring an experienced criminal attorney, Jacksonville FL, is the best way to stand and fight for your rights. Know more about credit card fraud here.

Illegal Acts Related to Credit Card Fraud

 

  • Expired credit card usage
  • Credit card invoice alteration
  • Receiving any amount of money due to credit card fraud
  • Fraud credit card trafficking
  • Stealing of credit cards for fraudulent use
  • Defrauding through re-encoders

 

If you have committed more than one of these acts, you are to undergo aggregate prosecution. If your crimes are within six months, they will be dealt with as one crime instead of numerous crimes.

For the defendant, it will have to depend on the situation for it to be distinguished as fortunate or unfortunate. The positive side may be dealing with only a single charge instead of multiple ones for each act. The negative side is the severity of these actions, once added all, as the crime’s full extent. Often, offenders only face a single, yet serious consequence since the severity levels of theft are dependent on the total stolen amount.

Penalties for Credit Card Fraud

If you are caught with the intent of using a credit card for withdrawing money, purchasing goods, and obtaining services, without the consent of the cardholder, then you will be charged with a crime. A first-degree misdemeanor is using the card once or twice within six months, with only less than $100 as the value retrieved. The penalty is spending a year in jail. Anything more than that is a third-degree felony and is punishable by spending five years in prison as maximum.

Identity Theft vs. Credit Card Fraud

Credit card fraud is under identity theft. It is stealing another person’s credit card and making purchases out of it. It does not involve other factors of identity theft.

Identity theft is more sophisticated. It involves illegally taking someone else’s personal information – such as the names, passwords, address, and social security numbers – and using it to apply for credit. The process usually takes a while and affects victims differently. Identity thieves also take longer to catch, whereas credit card frauds are quickly discovered since the tracks difficult to hide.

Good attorneys know what to look for and what their client needs when it comes to cases like this. Obtaining a criminal attorney, Jacksonville FL, is one of the ways to speed up the process and save you unwanted costs.