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