US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC1644]

 
                      TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
 
                 CHAPTER 41--CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION
 
              SUBCHAPTER I--CONSUMER CREDIT COST DISCLOSURE
 
                       Part B--Credit Transactions
 
Sec. 1644. Fraudulent use of credit cards; penalties


(a) Use, attempt or conspiracy to use card in transaction affecting 
        interstate or foreign commerce

    Whoever knowingly in a transaction affecting interstate or foreign 
commerce, uses or attempts or conspires to use any counterfeit, 
fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained 
credit card to obtain money, goods, services, or anything else of value 
which within any one-year period has a value aggregating $1,000 or more; 
or

(b) Transporting, attempting or conspiring to transport card in 
        interstate commerce

    Whoever, with unlawful or fraudulent intent, transports or attempts 
or conspires to transport in interstate or foreign commerce a 
counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently 
obtained credit card knowing the same to be counterfeit, fictitious, 
altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained; or

(c) Use of interstate commerce to sell or transport card

    Whoever, with unlawful or fraudulent intent, uses any 
instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce to sell or transport a 
counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently 
obtained credit card knowing the same to be counterfeit, fictitious, 
altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained; or

(d) Receipt, concealment, etc., of goods obtained by use of card

    Whoever knowingly receives, conceals, uses, or transports money, 
goods, services, or anything else of value (except tickets for 
interstate or foreign transportation) which (1) within any one-year 
period has a value aggregating $1,000 or more, (2) has moved in or is 
part of, or which constitutes interstate or foreign commerce, and (3) 
has been obtained with a counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, 
stolen, or fraudulently obtained credit card; or

(e) Receipt, concealment, etc., of tickets for interstate or foreign 
        transportation obtained by use of card

    Whoever knowingly receives, conceals, uses, sells, or transports in 
interstate or foreign commerce one or more tickets for interstate or 
foreign transportation, which (1) within any one-year period have a 
value aggregating $500 or more, and (2) have been purchased or obtained 
with one or more counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, 
or fraudulently obtained credit cards; or

(f) Furnishing of money, etc., through use of card

    Whoever in a transaction affecting interstate or foreign commerce 
furnishes money, property, services, or anything else of value, which 
within any one-year period has a value aggregating $1,000 or more, 
through the use of any counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, 
stolen, or fraudulently obtained credit card knowing the same to be 
counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently 
obtained--

shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten 
years, or both.

(Pub. L. 90-321, title I, Sec. 134, as added Pub. L. 91-508, title V, 
Sec. 502(a), Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 1127; amended Pub. L. 93-495, title 
IV, Sec. 414, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1520.)


                               Amendments

    1974--Pub. L. 93-495 generally reorganized provisions by designating 
former unlettered paragraph cls. (a) to (f), and as so designated, 
expanded prohibitions relating to fraudulent use of credit cards, 
decreased amount required for fraudulent use from a retail value 
aggregating $5,000, or more, to enumerated amounts for particular 
activities, and increased the punishment from a sentence of not more 
than five years to a sentence of not more than ten years.


                    Effective Date of 1974 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 93-495 effective Oct. 28, 1974, see section 416 
of Pub. L. 93-495, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1665a 
of this title.


                             Effective Date

    Section 503(3) of Pub. L. 91-508 provided that: ``Section 134 of 
such Act [this section] applies to offenses committed on or after such 
date of enactment [Oct. 26, 1970].''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 1645 of this title.