Types

• Several federal statutes deal with this type of crime; each state also has its own set of statutes in place. For example, the financial fraud statute in the state of Washington classifies the unlawful possession, use or production of debit or credit cards as a class C felony.
  
  

Law

• The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act was passed in 1998 accrediting the act of identity theft as a felony in local and state law.
  
  

Considerations

• Identity theft carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years in addition to substantial fines and the confiscation of any money or goods obtained while committing the crime. The United States Department of Justice website states that felony credit card abuse can carry a maximum prison term of 30 years.