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Protect Yourself from Financial Transaction Card Theft in Georgia

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We get calls all the time from people who have been charged in Georgia with taking your financial transaction (debit/credit) card information after you have voluntarily provided it to a business. You may have paid at the pump at a gas station, given your card to a fast food employee at the counter or a drive thru, or even paid for a product or service online only to find out that card has been compromised and unauthorized charges were placed on it.

Helpful tips to protect yourself from Financial Transaction Card theft!

But that’s all right. You can protect your financial transaction cards from theft in Georgia by following some basic steps.

  1. Be vigilant about checking your cards for unauthorized purchases. Every bank and credit card company has the ability to create an account where you can monitor your cards at your convenience. Depending on your activities that may be a daily monitoring or less frequently if you choose.
  2. Always choose credit over debit if that is an option with your debit card. Purchasing as a credit card offers additional protections that using a debit card does not.
  3. If you “pay at the pump” make sure the pump has not been tampered with. Most gas stations use tape to determine whether that pump has been compromised. If that tape has been broken, do not use your card at that pump.
  4. Be careful when you give your card to someone who takes your card from you to process payment. They could be copying your card information, taking pictures of your card, or even using your card in the time they have it in their possession.
  5. Make sure your PIN and passwords are secure. Do not use common PIN numbers or passwords. Change your passwords regularly. There are sites on the Internet that will tell you if a password you use has been compromised. Check those sites regularly. Consider using a password manager to manage your Internet presence.
  6. If you receive strange mail regarding accounts you have not opened or activated, do not ignore them, that could be someone attempting to steal your identity.

Give us a call today if you find yourself in a situation like this.

The best way to protect yourself from financial transaction card theft in Georgia is to be vigilant. Stay on top of your accounts. Monitor your activity. If you see something out of the ordinary, report it immediately. If you have any questions regarding your rights if your card information has been stolen, call our office at 404-581-0999. If you know where your card information was stolen, call the police.

Financial Transaction Card Forgery

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In Georgia it is against the law to make a fake financial transaction card in the name of another person or to alter any credit or debit card’s encoded information.

What is Financial Transaction Card Forgery?

A person commits the offense of financial transaction card forgery when:

(1)  With intent to defraud a purported issuer; a person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value; or any other person, he falsely makes or falsely embosses a purported financial transaction card;

(2)  With intent to defraud a purported issuer; a person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value; or any other person, he falsely encodes, duplicates, or alters existing encoded information on a financial transaction card or utters such a financial transaction card; or

(3)  He, not being the cardholder or a person authorized by him, with intent to defraud the issuer; a person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value; or any other person, signs a financial transaction card.

Examples

Falsely making a financial transaction card in Georgia occurs when someone makes or draws a card that is in someone else’s name but is not their actual card because they did not authorize the making or drawing of the card which was issued by the credit or debit card company.

Falsely embossing a financial transaction card in Georgia occurs when someone adds a name, card number, expiration date or security code to a card that already exists.

Falsely encoding a financial transaction card in Georgia occurs when someone erases or alters, electronically, magnetically, or electromagnetically information on the card that will permit acceptance of that card by an ATM.

If you are found in Georgia with two falsely made, embossed, or encoded financial transaction cards it is evidence under the statute that a crime has been committed.

Sentencing

If you are found guilty of violating this statute, you will be convicted of a felony and sentenced one to three years in custody.

Please call us today for a free consultation regarding financial transaction card forgery in Georgia at 404-581-0999.

Financial Transaction Card Theft

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Financial Transaction Card Theft is the forgery crime we do the second most consults for in our office. It generally involves someone who takes the debit or credit card or the information on the debit/credit card of another with the plan to use that information later for their own benefit or to give or sell that information to another. Financial Transaction Card Theft is defined in O.C.G.A.16-9-31.

What is Financial Card Theft?

Financial Transaction Card Theft in Georgia occurs when:

A person takes, obtains, or withholds a financial transaction card from the person, possession, custody, or control of another without the cardholder’s consent; or who, with knowledge that it has been so taken, obtained, or withheld, receives the financial transaction card with intent to use it or to sell it or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or the cardholder;

  • A person receives a financial transaction card that he knows to have been lost, mislaid, or delivered under a mistake as to the identity or address of the cardholder and he retains possession with intent to use it or sell it or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or the cardholder;
  • A person, not being the issuer,sells a financial transaction card or buys a financial transaction card from aperson other than the issuer; or
  • A person not being the issuer,during any 12 month period receives two or more financial transaction cards inthe names of persons which he has reason to know were taken or retained undercircumstances which constitute a violation of theft by taking or financial cardtransaction theft.

What’s the Punishment? 

Financial Transaction Card Theft in Georgia is a felony punishable by at least one year imprisonment with a maximum punishment of three years imprisonment and a $5,000 fine.

Call us today

If you’ve been charged with financial card transaction theft in Georgia it is important that you contact an attorney immediately to go over potential defenses in your case. Our team of six attorneys is experienced in defending these cases and are available today for a free consultation. Please call us at 404-581-0999 to schedule a consultation today.

by Ryan Walsh