Virginia statute
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-193 — Credit card and gift card forgery; penalty
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Article 6: Offenses Relating to Credit Cards and Gift Cards, Code of Virginia.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-193
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the text of the Code of Virginia from the official Virginia Law Portal API published by the Virginia General Assembly's Division of Legislative Automated Systems; it is not the official Code of Virginia.
A. A person is guilty of credit 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 credit card or utters such a credit card;
2. He, not being the cardholder or a person authorized by him, with intent to defraud the issuer, or a person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value, or any other person, signs a credit card; or
3. He, not being the cardholder or a person authorized by him, with intent to defraud the issuer, or a person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value, or any other person, forges a sales draft or cash advance/withdrawal draft, or uses a credit card number of a card of which he is not the cardholder, or utters, or attempts to employ as true, such forged draft knowing it to be forged.
B. A person falsely makes a credit card when he makes or draws, in whole or in part, a device or instrument that purports to be the credit card of a named issuer but which is not such a credit card because the issuer did not authorize the making or drawing, or alters a credit card that was validly issued.
C. A person falsely embosses a credit card when, without the authorization of the named issuer, he completes a credit card by adding any of the matter, other than the signature of the cardholder, which an issuer requires to appear on the credit card before it can be used by a cardholder.
D. Any person who, with intent to defraud, alters or tampers with a gift card or its packaging is guilty of gift card forgery.
E. Conviction of credit card or gift card forgery is a Class 5 felony.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is credit card and gift card forgery a felony or a misdemeanor in Virginia?
Credit card and gift card forgery is a class 5 felony in Virginia under Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-193.
Which Virginia statute covers credit card and gift card forgery?
Credit card and gift card forgery is governed by Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-193 (Credit card and gift card forgery; penalty).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.