Texas Penal Code 32.315 – Fraudulent Use or Possession of Credit Card or Debit Card Information
(a) In this section:
(1) “Counterfeit credit card or debit card” means a:
(A) credit card or debit card that:
(i) purports on its face to have been issued by an issuer that did not issue the card;
(ii) has been altered to contain a digital imprint other than that which was placed on the card by the issuer;
(iii) contains a digital imprint with account information or account holder information differing from that which is printed or embossed on the card; or
(iv) has been altered to change the account information or account holder information on the face of the card from that which was printed or embossed on the card by the issuer; or
(B) card, other than one issued as a credit card or debit card, that has been altered to contain the digital imprint of a credit card or debit card.
(2) “Credit card” and “debit card” have the meanings assigned by § 32.31.
(3) “Digital imprint” means the digital data placed on a credit card or debit card or on a counterfeit credit card or debit card.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person, with the intent to harm or defraud another, obtains, possesses, transfers, or uses:
(1) a counterfeit credit card or debit card;
(2) the number and expiration date of a credit card or debit card without the consent of the account holder; or
(3) the data stored on the digital imprint of a credit card or debit card without the consent of the account holder.
Terms Used In Texas Penal Code 32.315
- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Agency: includes authority, board, bureau, commission, committee, council, department, district, division, and office. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Consent: means assent in fact, whether express or apparent. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Government: means :
(A) the state;
(B) a county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state; or
(C) any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision. See Texas Penal Code 1.07 - Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage, or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Law: means the constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States, a written opinion of a court of record, a municipal ordinance, an order of a county commissioners court, or a rule authorized by and lawfully adopted under a statute. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
(c) If an actor possessed five or more of an item described by Subsection (b)(2) or (3), a rebuttable presumption exists that the actor possessed each item without the consent of the account holder.
(d) The presumption established under Subsection (c) does not apply to a business or other commercial entity or a government agency that is engaged in a business activity or governmental function that does not violate a penal law of this state.
(e) An offense under this section is:
(1) a state jail felony if the number of items obtained, possessed, transferred, or used is less than five;
(2) a felony of the third degree if the number of items obtained, possessed, transferred, or used is five or more but less than 10;
(3) a felony of the second degree if the number of items obtained, possessed, transferred, or used is 10 or more but less than 50; or
(4) a felony of the first degree if the number of items obtained, possessed, transferred, or used is 50 or more.
(f) If a court orders a defendant convicted of an offense under this section to make restitution to a victim of the offense, the court may order the defendant to reimburse the victim for lost income or other expenses, other than attorney’s fees, incurred as a result of the offense.
(g) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.