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Virginia statute

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-196 — Criminal possession of credit card forgery devices

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. § 18.2-196

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.

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-196Primary source, current through the 2026 Regular Session
(1) A person is guilty of criminal possession of credit card forgery devices when: (a) He is a person other than the cardholder and possesses two or more incomplete credit cards, with intent to complete them without the consent of the issuer; or (b) He possesses, with knowledge of its character, machinery, plates or any other contrivance designed to reproduce instruments purporting to be credit cards of an issuer who has not consented to the preparation of such credit cards. (2) A credit card is incomplete if part 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, has not yet been stamped, embossed, imprinted or written upon. Conviction of criminal possession of credit card forgery devices is punishable as a Class 6 felony.

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Legal terms used in this section

Questions this section answers

Is criminal possession of credit card forgery devices a felony or a misdemeanor in Virginia?

Criminal possession of credit card forgery devices is a class 6 felony in Virginia under Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-196.

Which Virginia statute covers criminal possession of credit card forgery devices?

Criminal possession of credit card forgery devices is governed by Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-196 (Criminal possession of credit card forgery devices).

Is unlawful use of payment card scanning devices and re-encoders a felony or a misdemeanor in Virginia?

It depends on the circumstances: unlawful use of payment card scanning devices and re-encoders ranges from a class 1 misdemeanor to a class 6 felony in Virginia under Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-196.1.

Base offense - unauthorized use of scanning device or re-encoder: class 1 misdemeanor (Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-196.1A) · Selling or distributing scanned information: class 6 felony (Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-196.1B) · Using scanned information in commission of another crime: class 6 felony (Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-196.1C)

This reference is informational and is not legal advice.