Credit card fraud is a complex crime that is closely linked to identity theft. It can occur if someone obtains another person’s information for the purposes of making unauthorized transactions or in order to illegally withdraw funds from the card holder’s bank account. However, even the card holder themselves can be guilty of credit card fraud if they use their own credit card knowing that there aren’t enough funds in the account to cover the purchases being made.
In the state of Colorado, credit card fraud is treated as a form of identity theft, and is outlined in its criminal codes 18-5-901 and 18-5-903. Colorado defines credit card fraud as being in possession of someone else’s credit card information without permission for purposes of committing a crime. They look specifically at financial devices being used in the commission of the fraud, such as credit cards, debit cards, checks, and money orders. Basically, anything that can be used to carry out this crime of obtaining cash or property from the account holder or to make financial transactions illegally.
If you are being accused of credit card fraud, there are defenses you and your attorney can utilize when facing these charges. One such defense is lack of intent. You have to have intended to commit the fraudulent act. Therefore, if you didn’t know your card was expired or you lacked the knowledge that there wasn’t enough money in the account to cover the transactions being made, you can claim lack of intent because you didn’t mean to commit the fraud.
Another defense one can use is mistake. The first scenario where mistake can be utilized is mistaken identity. It is not always perfectly clear who has committed the fraud, so your attorney can claim the prosecution has mistakenly accused the wrong person and, with lack of sufficient evidence to prove otherwise, can apply this defense. The second situation where a mistake can be claimed is where you actually did have authorization to use the card from the card holder so you weren’t in illegal possession of the credit card. Even if the credit card wasn’t in your name, but the card holder gave you permission to use it, you can claim you had authorization and therefore were not committing fraud by making purchases with the card holder’s information.
If you are confused or uncertain about how to proceed when being accused of credit card fraud, seek the legal counsel of a theft defense attorney who has experience in this field of law and has successfully dealt with cases involving credit card fraud in the past. The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. will provide you with the defenses you’ll need against credit card fraud, so don’t hesitate to give us a call and learn more about what we can do to help you when facing these charges. Contact The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. today at (719) 475-2555.