Tennessee Credit Card – Watching Fraud Rise

By: EconomyWatch Content Team   Date: 1 February 2010

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Most states in the past two years have been faced with a number of challenges.  The current economy has made things difficult for consumers, merchants, credit card companies, banks, and credit unions.  As a result change has been mandatory for the person with a Tennessee credit card to survive.  While federal legislature has created laws to protect consumers and merchants, there has still been a major increase in Tennessee credit card fraud during the past year.

In fact, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recently revealed its findings, which astounded most people.  This report showed that Tennessee credit card fraud had risen by 38% just since 2007.  To understand this, it is important to define “fraud” specific to credit cards in that fraud can be seen in many forms.  In this case, Tennessee credit card fraud would be a criminal act that started with a card being stolen or data on a card being compromised.

Tennessee credit card fraud can occur in several ways.  For instance, because so many people now make purchases and payments online, opportunity has been established for a crime such as this to occur, which would typically be the result of the online business not using security software for its customers.  The second possibility is a dishonest worker in a store where a purchase was made with a credit card.  In this case, the clerk would copy a sales receipt that shows all of the card numbers, as well as the person’s name, and then use it to make purchases.

The good news is that for Tennessee credit card fraud, if a person were caught with unlawful possession of services or property, or fraudulent use of a credit card, that person would be charged of a felony, which means serious prison time.  If a Tennessee credit card is used by someone who knows the card was stolen or that person uses the card number, again illegally or without the cardholder’s permission, the state of Tennessee calls this “white collar crime.”

The bottom line is that fraudulent use of a Tennessee credit card is when a person knowingly uses the card but without the cardholder knowing or giving consent.  When the individual is caught, he or she would be charged with theft, which is also a serious crime.  As to the exact charges that would be brought against the criminal, it depends on the state but also the value of the property and/or services the card was used to purchase.  The reason is that each state sets a dollar figure that when crossed, the crime moves from being a misdemeanor to a felony.

Of course, if a person has been caught and charged with fraudulent use of a Tennessee credit card, they are in major trouble and would need to seek help from a criminal lawyer.  For the consumer whose Tennessee credit card was used illegally, most often there is a cap on dollar amount for what you would be responsible for, if any.  This is why when looking for a Tennessee credit card people need to read the terms of the card carefully.  That way, if there is a cap as to what the issuing company would cover, the individual might want to scout around for a better card, one considered safer.


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