California Penal Code § 484g PC makes it a crime to use a credit or debit card to obtain goods, services or money when you know the card is fake, forged, expired, invalid, or belongs to someone else.
Fraudulent use of a credit/debit card can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, as the following chart shows:
| Credit Card Fraud | Punishment in California |
| You receive up to $950 in items – Petty theft (PC 484) | Misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in county jail and/or $1,000 |
| You receive more than $950 in items – Grand theft (PC 487) | Misdemeanor: Up to 1 year in county jail and/or $1,000 or Felony: 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in jail and/or up to $10,000 |
Examples of Credit Card Fraud
- Stealing a credit card and trying to purchase some clothes with it
- Taking your girlfriend’s expired debit card and transferring funds to his own account
- Taking credit card information from your roommate and using it to make online purchases from Amazon
Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following credit card fraud topics in this article:
1. Elements
California Criminal Jury Instructions “CALCRIM” 1956 and 1957 spell out the elements of fraudulent use of a debit or credit card.1 For you to be convicted of violating PC 484g, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt these five elements:
- You used altered or forged access card or account information;
- You knew they were forged or altered;
- You acted without permission of the owner;
- You intended to obtain anything of value; and
- You had the intent to defraud.
To “defraud” or to do something “fraudulently” means to try and gain an undeserved benefit by using trickery or deceit.2
Note that you do not have to have physical possession of the credit card plate to be guilty of violating PC 484g. It is enough that you use the card’s account number, access code, pin, etc. to obtain something of value fraudulently.
2. Defenses
Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with fraud crimes, including credit card fraud. In our experience, the following three defenses are very persuasive with prosecutors, judges, and juries.
You Never Intended to Defraud Anyone
You can only be guilty of fraudulently using a credit or debit card if you do so with an intent to defraud. This means that it is always a legal defense to show that you did not have this requisite intent; for example, perhaps you used the credit card by complete accident.
Criminal intent is actually very difficult for prosecutors to prove because they can never get inside of your head. The charge should be dropped as long as we can raise a reasonable doubt.
The Cardholder Consented to Your Use
You are guilty of violating PC 484g only if you act without the card holder’s consent. Therefore, a solid defense is to show that a credit card owner agreed to your actions or purchases.
Typical evidence to show cardholder consent includes recorded communications between you two (such as texts, emails, and voicemails) and eyewitness accounts of your conversation.
You Were Under Duress
Duress is a defense in which you basically say: “They made me do it.” This defense applies to the very limited situation in which you commit a crime (here, fraudulently using a credit card) because somebody threatened to kill you if the crime was not committed.
The best way to show duress is through:
- video surveillance footage,
- eyewitness accounts, and
- communications (such as text messages) by the person who placed you under duress.
Plus if you have a clean criminal record otherwise, that could help us show prosecutors that breaking the law is out of character for you and that you would not have used the credit card but for the duress.
“Fraud” occurs when you try to gain an undeserved benefit through deceit.
3. Penalties
Credit card theft in California is treated as petty theft (Penal Code 484) if the amount stolen is valued up to $950.3 Otherwise, you face charges for grand theft (Penal Code 487).4
Petty Theft
Petty theft is a misdemeanor under California law.5 The crime is punishable by:
- imprisonment in the county jail for up to six months, and/or
- a maximum fine of $1,000.6
Grand Theft
Grand theft is a wobbler, meaning that it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.
If charged as a misdemeanor, the crime is punishable by:
- imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, and/or
- a maximum fine of $1,000.7
If charged as a felony, the offense is punishable by:
- imprisonment in the county jail for up to three years, and/or
- a maximum fine of $10,000.8
In some cases we can reach out to the prosecutors after the arrest but before they file charges in attempt to persuade them to bring misdemeanor rather than felony charges.
4. Related Crimes
- Shoplifting (PC 459.5) – entering a commercial establishment during business hours with the intent to steal merchandise valued at $950 or less.
- Forgery (PC 470) – falsifying a signature or seal or counterfeiting documents with fraudulent intent
- Petty larceny (PC 484) – stealing up to $950 worth of goods or services
- Stealing a credit card (PC 484e) – taking another person’s/entity’s credit card (or credit card information) whether or not you buy anything with it
- Forging credit/debit card information (PC 484f) – altering a credit card, counterfeiting one, or signing someone else’s name during a transaction without their consent
- Retailer credit card fraud (PC 484h) – credit card theft done by merchants
- Counterfeiting credit cards (PC 484i) – manufacturing a fake credit card or possessing credit card-making machinery
- Publishing credit/debit card information (PC 484j) – disseminating current or expired credit card information orally or in writing
- Grand larceny (PC 487) – stealing more than $950 worth of goods or services
- Identity theft (PC 530.5) – using someone else’s personal identifying information for an unlawful purpose
Penal Code 484g PC makes it a crime to fraudulently use another person’s credit or debit card.
Additional Resources
Refer to these articles for more information about credit card fraud, including how to report fraud and tips for safeguarding yourself.
- Credit Cards – Disputing a Charge, California Department of Justice.
- Steps to Take if You Are the Victim of Credit Card Fraud, Experian
- Credit Card Fraud: Cloning & Skimming, Equifax
- Fraud Victim Resources, TransUnion
- Credit Cards, Federal Trade Commission
Legal References:
- California Penal Code 484g PC (“Every person who, with the intent to defraud, (a) uses, for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else of value, an access card or access card account information that has been altered, obtained, or retained in violation of Section 484e or 484f, or an access card which he or she knows is forged, expired, or revoked, or (b) obtains money, goods, services, or anything else of value by representing without the consent of the cardholder that he or she is the holder of an access card and the card has not in fact been issued, is guilty of theft. If the value of all money, goods, services, and other things of value obtained in violation of this section exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) in any consecutive six-month period, then the same shall constitute grand theft.”). California Criminal Jury Instruction (CALCRIM) 1956 and 1957.
- See same.
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- California Penal Code 490 PC.
- See same.
- California Penal Code 489 PC.
- See same. See also People v. Liu (Cal. 2019) 451 P.3d 1165; People v. Thompson (Cal. App. 2d Dist. 2015), 243 Cal. App. 4th 413.