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Manassas Credit Card Theft Lawyer

Credit card theft occurs any time a person steals the credit card of another person, the physical card itself, or anytime that a person steals the magnetically encoded numbers which are associated with the credit card and then uses that to either get cash or to buy goods. If accused of this offense, it is extremely important you get a Manassas credit card theft lawyer as soon as possible because this is a serious charge which can result in actual jail or prison time as well as fines and even lengthy terms of probation. An experienced theft attorney, however, will be able to look at the facts and circumstances surrounding the allegations and build a strong defense to mitigate the damage as much as possible.

Elements of Credit Card Theft

In a credit card theft case, a prosecutor is going to need to show that the defendant knowingly took a credit card that was not theirs and then used it for a transaction of some kind, or that they knowingly used the credit card information contained on the card in a transaction of some kind knowing that it was not theirs. If a credit card theft attorney in Manassas can create a defense that keeps the prosecution from reaching each of these elements, the individual accused may be found not guilty.

Common Associated Crimes

There are a number of other common crimes often associated with credit card theft. These crimes most often include:

  • Larceny
  • Forgery
  • Uttering
  • Embezzlement

A stolen credit card can be used in conjunction with any of these types of defense.

Difference Between Theft and Fraud

Credit card theft most commonly refers to the actual taking or stealing of the physical credit card itself. A credit card fraud is most often going to be a case where someone has taken the encoded information from a credit card, encoded it on to another card and presented it as though it were theirs. While both serious charges, theft warrants the attention of a Manassas credit card theft attorney immediately.

Building a Defense

There are a number of important things that a Manassas credit card theft lawyer takes into consideration while planning a defense. An attorney will consider what witnesses there are, and if you are going to provide evidence at trial, this can be everyone from the victim to a shop keeper, a loss prevention officer, police officer, or even the statements that have been made by the accused themselves.

In addition, there is often a paper trail in cases like this so there may be electronic data, ledger books or other electronically stored information which is going to be analyzed and which will be important in either proving guilt or in some cases in helping to prove that you are not guilty.

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