Financial Transaction Card Theft and Financial Transaction Card Fraud

In North Carolina, Fraud is considered a property crime, and, more specifically, a theft crime. There are several forms of theft and fraud that fall under North Carolina Criminal Law. Some of the most commonly prosecuted crimes involve credit cards and debit cards. In North Carolina, you can be charged with financial transaction card theft or financial transaction card fraud depending on the facts and circumstances of the alleged crime.

Financial Transaction Card Theft

• In order to prove this crime, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the following:
• The defendant took a credit card or debit card from someone without their consent with the intent to use it or transfer it to someone else; or
• The defendant received a credit card or debit card, knowing that is been lost or stolen, and had the intent to use it or transfer to someone else (who didn’t own the card); or
• The defendant bought or sold a credit card or debit card to someone, and the defendant is not the insurer of that card; or
• With the intent to defraud another person, the defendant used a scanning device to scan, read, obtain, memorize or store information used to encode another person’s credit card or debit card information.
• Typically, a person convicted of this crime is guilty of a Class I felony.

Financial Transaction Card Fraud

• In order to prove this crime, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, for the purpose of obtaining goods or services, the defendant committed any of the following:
• Without the consent of the owner of the credit card or debit card, the defendant represented that the defendant is the holder of that car; or
• Without the permission of the card holder, the defendant used the credit card or debit card; or
• The defendant represented that he is the holder of a card that has not been issued yet; or
• The defendant used a debit card to knowingly and willfully exceeding the balance in the bank account, or used a credit card to willfully exceed the available credit limit by $500 or 50 percent (whichever is higher).
• Even absent the obtaining good or services, financial card fraud can be shown by several other methods, including the following:
• Defendant wrongfully obtained control of credit card or debit card as security for a debt; or
• Defendant used an automated banking service to deposit a forged, altered, or counterfeit check, draft, or money order.
• If a defendant is found guilty of this crime, the punishment depends on the value of goods or services obtained. If the value was no more than $500, they will be found guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. If the value of the goods and services was more than $500, they will be found guilty of a Class I felony.

If you have been charged with any crime, including financial transaction card theft or financial transaction card fraud, you can potentially face some very serious consequences. A criminal defense lawyer will be able to help you through these issues, and give you the best defense possible. At Gilles Law, we handle criminal charges in North Carolina and South Carolina, whether State or Federal charges, or misdemeanor or felony charges, we can help.