When the FBI Comes Calling…®
Identity Theft (Continued)
18 U.S.C. § 1029 (2007).
Another, increasingly common method of stealing identities is through the theft of credit card numbers or Personal Identification Numbers [hereinafter PINs]. This method is covered by 18 U.S.C. § 1029, which uses the unfortunate terminology of "access devices."
The Crime
It is a crime to do any of the following ten offenses listed in section 1029(a):
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, produce, use, or traffic in one or more counterfeit access devices;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, traffic in or use one or more unauthorized access devises during any one-year period, and, by doing so, obtain anything of value aggregating $ 1,000 or more during that period;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, possess fifteen or more devices which are counterfeit or unauthorized access devices;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, produce, traffic in, have control or custody of, or possess device-making equipment;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, effect transactions, with 1 or more access devices issued to another person or persons, to receive payment or any other thing of value during any 1-year period the aggregate value of which is equal to or greater than $ 1,000;
- without the authorization of the issuer of the access device, knowingly, and with intent to defraud, solicit a person for the purpose of either: offering an access device, or selling information regarding or an application to obtain an access device;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, use, produce, traffic in, have control or custody of, or possess a telecommunications instrument that has been modified or altered to obtain unauthorized use of telecommunications services;
- knowingly and with intent to defraud use, produce, traffic in, have control or custody of, or possess a scanning receiver;
- knowingly use, produce, traffic in, have control or custody of, or possess hardware or software, knowing it has been configured to insert or modify telecommunication identifying information associated with or contained in a telecommunications instrument so that such instrument may be used to obtain telecommunications service without authorization; or
- without the authorization of the credit card system member or its agent, knowingly, and with intent to defraud, cause or arrange for another person to present to the member or its agent, for payment, 1 or more evidences or records of transactions made by an access device.
The Punishment
If the offense affects interstate or foreign commerce, a person convicted of violating section 1029(a), will be punished in the following manner.
- If the conviction is for a first-time offense under section 1029, and the defendant violated paragraphs 1029(1), (2), (3), (6), (7), or (10)., the punishment will be a fine, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.
- If the conviction is for a first-time offense and the defendant violated paragraphs 1029(4), (5), (8), or (9), the punishment will be a fine, imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or both;
- If the conviction is for a subsequent offense under section 1029, the punishment will be a fine, imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both;
- The defendant will also be forced to forfeit any personal property used or intended to be used to commit the offense.
- Access device: any card, plate, code, account number, electronic serial number, mobile identification number, personal identification number, or other telecommunications service, equipment, or instrument identifier, or other means of account access that can be used, alone or in conjunction with another access device, to obtain money, goods, services, or any other thing of value, or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds (other than a transfer originated solely by paper instrument);
- Counterfeit access device: any access device that is counterfeit, fictitious, altered, or forged, or an identifiable component of an access device or a counterfeit access device;
- Unauthorized access device: any access device that is lost, stolen, expired, revoked, canceled, or obtained with intent to defraud;
- Produce: includes design, alter, authenticate, duplicate, or assemble;
- Traffic: transfer, or otherwise dispose of, to another, or obtain control of with intent to transfer or dispose of;
- Device-making equipment: any equipment, mechanism, or impression designed or primarily used for making an access device or a counterfeit access device;
- Credit card system member: a financial institution or other entity that is a member of a credit card system, including an entity, whether affiliated with or identical to the credit card issuer, that is the sole member of a credit card system;
- Scanning receiver: a device or apparatus that can be used to intercept a wire or electronic communication in violation of chapter 119 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510 et seq.) or to intercept an electronic serial number, mobile identification number, or other identifier of any telecommunications service, equipment, or instrument;
- Telecommunications service: has the meaning given such term in section 3 of title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153);
- Facilities-based carrier: an entity that owns communications transmission facilities, is responsible for the operation and maintenance of those facilities, and holds an operating license issued by the Federal Communications Commission under the authority of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq.);
- Telecommunication identifying information: electronic serial number or any other number or signal that identifies a specific telecommunications instrument or account, or a specific communication transmitted from a telecommunications instrument.
An attempt to commit any of the above offenses will be punished in the same manner as if the offense had been completed. Furthermore, a person who is a party to a conspiracy to commit any of the above offenses, that person will be fined up to the maximum allowed, imprisoned for not longer than one-half the maximum period allowed, or both.
Definitions
As used in this section--