Law and order

We read a lot in the news about credit card fraud. It is a sixteen billion dollar a year problem here in the United States alone. Yes, that was billion with a b. Part of the reason for the high dollar amount is that many thieves flee the country as soon as they get enough information, to return to their home country and use to sell the information for financial gain. Did you ever wonder what happens when those thieves get caught?
There is very little federal legislation regarding credit card fraud, much less defining what it is. That definition is left up to the individual states. Generally, faudulent use of a credit card is obtaining a benefit of more that $1,000. This includes the actual theft of the card or the person’s information, forgery, and the alteration of the card.
The penalties vary from state to state and in many cases depend of the thief’s history. If little Johnny down the street steals your card to buy a new pair of shoes he is not going to be treated like a career criminal. In most cases credit card fraud is a felony. In California you can get jail time ranging from 16 months to 3 years and a fine of $10,000. In Texas you can land 6 months to 2 years in the pokey and pay a fine up to $10,000. In Pennsylvania (since we are based out of it) the sentence depends on the amount the thief stole and can land them up to 7 years in the crowbar motel.
The federal legislation regarding credit card fraud mostly involves committing the fraud on government property or on the government itself, or crossing state lines to commit the crime. While the state sentences may seem incredibly lenient, the federal sentences can land you as much as 20 years in prison.
No criminal want to go to jail. Perhaps that is why so many of them flee the country after committing their crimes. While so few of them seem to get caught, it is reassuring to know that there are stiff penalties, and that at least some of the thieves are getting to spend some time as wards of the state.