H. B. 4681

(By Delegate Tomblin, (By Request) and Dempsey)
[Introduced February 27, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-four-a, article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to making explicit that any person who obtains the transmission of a message, signal or other communication by use of another's telephone, telephone number or telephone account with the intention of avoiding payment therefor has done so knowingly, fraudulently and unlawfully; and providing that same is subject to existing felony or misdemeanor criminal penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-four-a, article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty- one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.

§61-3-24a. Attempted or fraudulent use, forgery, traffic of credit cards; possession and transfer of credit cards and credit card making equipment; false or fraudulent use of telephonic services; penalties.

(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Counterfeit credit card" means the following:
(A) Any credit card or a representation, depiction, facsimile, aspect or component thereof that is counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, incomplete or obtained in violation of this section, or as part of a scheme to defraud; or
(B) Any invoice, voucher, sales draft or other reflection or manifestation of such a card.
(2) "Credit card making equipment" means any equipment, machine, plate mechanism, impression or any other contrivance which can be used to produce a credit card, a counterfeit credit card, or any aspect or component of either.
(3) "Traffic" means:
(A) To sell, transfer, distribute, dispense or otherwise dispose of any property; or
(B) To buy, receive, possess, obtain control of or use property with the intent to sell, transfer, distribute, dispense or otherwise dispose of such property.
(4) "Notice" means either information given in person or information given in writing to the person to whom the number, card or device was issued. The sending of a notice in writing by registered or certified mail in the United States mail, duly stamped and addressed to such person at his or her last known address, is prima facie evidence that such notice was duly received. A cardholder's knowledge of the revocation of his or her credit card may be reasonably inferred by evidence that notice of such revocation was mailed to him or her, at least four days prior to his or her use or attempted use of the credit card, by first class mail at his or her last known address.
(b) (1) It is unlawful for any person knowingly to obtain or attempt to obtain credit, or to purchase or attempt to purchase any goods, property or service, by the use of any false, fictitious or counterfeit credit card, telephone number, credit number or other credit device, or by the use of any credit card, telephone number, credit number or other credit device of another beyond or without the authority of the person to whom such card, number or device was issued, or by the use of any credit card, telephone number, credit number or other credit device in any case where such card, number or device has been revoked and notice of such revocation has been given to the person to whom issued.
(2) It is unlawful for any person knowingly to obtain or attempt to obtain, by the use of any fraudulent scheme, device, means or method, telephone or telegraph service or the transmission of a message, signal or other communication by telephone or telegraph, or over telephone or telegraph facilities with intent to avoid payment of charges therefor: Provided, That any person who obtains the transmission of a message, signal or other communication by use of another's telephone, telephone number or telephone account, with the intention to avoid payment therefor, does so knowingly, fraudulently and unlawfully, for purposes of this subsection.
(3) Any person who violates any provision of this subsection, if the credit, goods, property, service or transmission is of the value of one thousand dollars or more, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than ten years or, in the discretion of the court, be confined in jail not more than one year and be fined not more than two thousand five hundred dollars; and if of less value, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail not more than one year or fined not more than two thousand five hundred dollars, or both.
(c) A person is guilty of forgery of a credit card when he or she makes, manufactures, presents, embosses, alters or utters a credit card with intent to defraud any person, issuer of credit or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value in exchange for payment by credit card and he or she is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than ten years, or, in the discretion of the court, be confined in jail not more than one year and fined not less than fifty nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars.
(d) Any person who traffics in or attempts to traffic in ten or more counterfeit credit cards or credit card account numbers of another in any six-month period is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than ten years, or, in the discretion of the court, be confined in jail not more than one year and fined not less than fifty nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars.
(e) A person who receives, possesses, transfers, buys, sells, controls or has custody of any credit card making equipment with intent that the equipment be used in the production of counterfeit credit cards is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than ten years, or, in the discretion of the court, be confined in jail not more than one year and fined not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars.
(f) A person who knowingly receives, possesses, acquires, controls or has custody of a counterfeit credit card is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail not exceeding six months or fined not more than five hundred dollars, or both.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make explicit that obtaining telephone messages, such as toll calls, by using another person's telephone, telephone number or telephone account with the intention to avoid paying for the call has done so unlawfully and is subject to criminal penalties.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.