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Fla. Stat. § 817.60 (2025)

Theft; obtaining credit card through fraudulent means.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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817.60 Theft; obtaining credit card through fraudulent means.—
(1) THEFT BY TAKING OR RETAINING POSSESSION OF CARD TAKEN.—A person who takes a credit card from the person, possession, custody, or control of another without the cardholder’s consent or who, with knowledge that it has been so taken, receives the credit card with intent to use it, to sell it, or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or the cardholder is guilty of credit card theft and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 817.67(1). Taking a credit card without consent includes obtaining it by conduct defined or known as statutory larceny, common-law larceny by trespassory taking, common-law larceny by trick or embezzlement or obtaining property by false pretense, false promise or extortion.
(2) THEFT OF CREDIT CARD LOST, MISLAID, OR DELIVERED BY MISTAKE.—A person who receives a credit card that he or she knows to have been lost, mislaid, or delivered under a mistake as to the identity or address of the cardholder and who retains possession with intent to use it, to sell it, or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or the cardholder is guilty of credit card theft and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 817.67(1).
(3) PURCHASE OR SALE OF CREDIT CARD OF ANOTHER.—A person other than the issuer who sells a credit card or a person who buys a credit card from a person other than the issuer violates this subsection and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 817.67(1).
(4) OBTAINING CONTROL OF CREDIT CARD AS SECURITY FOR DEBT.—A person who, with intent to defraud the issuer, a person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value, or any other person, obtains control over a credit card as security for a debt violates this subsection and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 817.67(1).
(5) DEALING IN CREDIT CARDS OF ANOTHER.—A person other than the issuer who, during any 12-month period, receives two or more credit cards issued in the name or names of different cardholders, which cards he or she has reason to know were taken or retained under circumstances which constitute credit card theft or a violation of this part, violates this subsection and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 817.67(2).
(6) FORGERY OF CREDIT CARD.—
(a) A person who, with intent to defraud a purported issuer or a person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value or any other person, falsely makes, falsely embosses, or falsely alters in any manner a credit card or utters such a credit card or who, with intent to defraud, has a counterfeit credit card or any invoice, voucher, sales draft, or other representation or manifestation of a counterfeit credit card in his or her possession, custody, or control is guilty of credit card forgery and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 817.67(2).
(b) A person other than an authorized manufacturer or issuer who possesses two or more counterfeit credit cards is presumed to have violated this subsection.
(c) A person falsely makes a credit card when he or she makes or draws in whole or in part a device or instrument which 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 when he or she alters a credit card which was validly issued.
(d) A person falsely embosses a credit card when, without the authorization of the named issuer, he or she 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.
(7) SIGNING CREDIT CARD OF ANOTHER.—A person other than the cardholder or a person authorized by him or her who, 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 violates this subsection and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 817.67(1).
(8) UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A STOLEN CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD.—A person who knowingly possesses, receives, or retains custody of a credit or debit card that has been taken from the possession, custody, or control of another without the cardholder’s consent and with the intent to impede the recovery of the credit or debit card by the cardholder commits unlawful possession of a stolen credit or debit card and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 817.67(2). It is not a violation of this subsection for a retailer or retail employee, in the ordinary course of business, to possess, receive, or return a credit card or debit card that the retailer or retail employee does not know was stolen or to possess, receive, or retain a credit card or debit card that the retailer or retail employee knows is stolen for the purpose of an investigation into the circumstances regarding the theft of the card or its possible unlawful use.
History.—s. 3, ch. 67-340; s. 3, ch. 84-297; s. 2, ch. 85-43; s. 69, ch. 85-62; s. 1269, ch. 97-102; s. 1, ch. 2011-184.

Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 817.60

M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd
§817.60(1)LARCTHEFT OF CREDIT CARDM · 1st
§817.60(2)LARCLOST OR DELIVERED BY MISTAKE CREDIT CARDM · 1st
§817.60(3)FRAUD-ILLEG USE CREDIT CARDSPURCHASE SELL ANOTHERSM · 1st
§817.60(4)FRAUD-ILLEG USE CREDIT CARDSAS DEBT SECURITYM · 1st
§817.60(5)FRAUD-ILLEG USE CREDIT CARDSDEAL IN ANOTHERSF · 3rd
§817.60(7)FRAUD-ILLEG USE CREDIT CARDSSIGN ANOTHERSM · 1st
§817.60(8)LARCPOSS RECEIVE RETAIN STOLEN CREDIT DEBIT CARDF · 3rd
§817.60(6a)PASS COUNTERFEITEDFALSELY MADE CREDIT CARDF · 3rd
§817.60(6a)FORGERY OFFALSELY EMBOSS OR ALTER CREDIT CARDF · 3rd
§817.60(6a)PASS FORGEDFALSELY EMBOSSED OR ALTERED CREDIT CARDF · 3rd
§817.60(6a)COUNTERFEITING OFFALSELY MAKE CREDIT CARDF · 3rd
§817.60(6a)POSSESS COUNTERFEITEDCREDIT CARD INVOICE SALES DRAFT VOUCHER ETCF · 3rd
§817.60(6b)POSSESS COUNTERFEITEDPOSSESS 2+ COUNTERFEIT CREDIT CARDSF · 3rd
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases, 1972–2018 · leading case: In re Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report No. 2012-04, 131 So. 3d 720 (Fla. 2013).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
In re Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report No. 2012-04, 131 So. 3d 720 (Fla. 2013). · cites it 4× “8 UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A STOLEN [CREDIT] [DEBIT] CARD § 817.60(8), Fla. Stat. To prove the crime of Unlawful Possession of a Stolen [Credit] [Debit] Card, the State must prove the following four elements beyond a reasonable doubt: L (Defendant) knowingly [possessed] [received]…”
Gorday v. State, 907 So. 2d 640 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005). · cites it 8× “That is, there is no language in section 817.60 to evidence an intent for credit card theft to be punished separately from other theft penalties provided by law when the credit card theft arises out of a single criminal episode.”
Fayerweather v. State, 332 So. 2d 21 (Fla. 1976). · cites it 2× “" The issue to be decided is whether conduct which violates both the State Credit Card Crime Act, Section 817.60(1), (3), Florida Statutes 1973, and the provision making it unlawful to receive stolen property, Section 811.”
Ruben B. Casais v. State, 204 So. 3d 969 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). · cites it 3× “Ruben Casais appeals from his conviction for uttering a forged credit card in violation of section 817.60, Florida Statutes (2015). Appellant used altered gift cards to purchase cigarettes and other items at a Public grocery store.”
State v. Young, 357 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). · cites it 2× “There it was held that conduct violative of both the State Credit Card Crime Act (specifically Section 817.60(1)(3), Florida Statutes [1973], dealing with receiving stolen credit cards) and the statute making it unlawful to receive stolen property (Section 811.”
State v. McCurdy, 257 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972). · cites it 4× “Section 3(6) of the 1967 Act, which has been brought down in the current compilations as F.S. § 817.60 (6), F.S.A., provides that— “A person who, with intent to defraud a purported issuer or .”
State v. Cogswell, 521 So. 2d 1081 (Fla. 1988). “1976), we considered "whether conduct which violates both the State Credit Card Crime Act, Section 817.60(1), (3), Florida Statutes 1973, and the provision making it unlawful to receive stolen property, Section 811.”
Collins v. State, 626 So. 2d 991 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). · cites it 3× “Section 817.60(1), Florida Statutes (1991) (credit card theft), provides that any person who violates it is subject to penalties set forth in section 817.”
Simmons v. State, 594 So. 2d 853 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). · cites it 4× “Next, although not raised by the appellant, the written sentence reflects that appellant was charged under section 817.60, Florida Statutes, with five counts of forgery of a credit card ticket.”
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report 2018-10., 259 So. 3d 765 (Fla. 2018). · cites it 4× “8 UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A STOLEN [CREDIT] [DEBIT] CARD § 817.60(8), Fla. Stat. To prove the crime of Unlawful Possession of a Stolen [Credit] [Debit] Card, the State must prove the following four elements beyond a reasonable doubt: 1.”
D.P.B. v. State, 877 So. 2d 770 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004). · cites it 2× “This offense is a violation of § 817.60, Fla. Stat., punishable as a first-degree misdemeanor.”
State v. Vikhlyantsev, 602 So. 2d 636 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). “1976), the Florida Supreme Court considered whether conduct which violated both the State Credit Card Crime Act, section 817.60(1), (3), Florida Statutes (1973), and the provision making it unlawful to receive stolen property, section 811.”
Show all 22 citing cases →
— 817.60(1) — 10 cases
Gorday v. State, 907 So. 2d 640 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005). “That is, there is no language in section 817.60 to evidence an intent for credit card theft to be punished separately from other theft penalties provided by law when the credit card theft arises out of a single criminal episode.”
Fayerweather v. State, 332 So. 2d 21 (Fla. 1976). “" The issue to be decided is whether conduct which violates both the State Credit Card Crime Act, Section 817.60(1), (3), Florida Statutes 1973, and the provision making it unlawful to receive stolen property, Section 811.”
State v. Cogswell, 521 So. 2d 1081 (Fla. 1988). “1976), we considered "whether conduct which violates both the State Credit Card Crime Act, Section 817.60(1), (3), Florida Statutes 1973, and the provision making it unlawful to receive stolen property, Section 811.”
Collins v. State, 626 So. 2d 991 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). “Section 817.60(1), Florida Statutes (1991) (credit card theft), provides that any person who violates it is subject to penalties set forth in section 817.”
State v. Vikhlyantsev, 602 So. 2d 636 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). “1976), the Florida Supreme Court considered whether conduct which violated both the State Credit Card Crime Act, section 817.60(1), (3), Florida Statutes (1973), and the provision making it unlawful to receive stolen property, section 811.”
— 817.60(1)(3) — 1 case
State v. Young, 357 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). “There it was held that conduct violative of both the State Credit Card Crime Act (specifically Section 817.60(1)(3), Florida Statutes [1973], dealing with receiving stolen credit cards) and the statute making it unlawful to receive stolen property (Section 811.”
— 817.60(2) — 3 cases
In re Forfeiture of One 1973 Mercedes Benz Motor Veh. V.I.N.: 10806712020253, 423 So. 2d 535 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982).
D.W. v. State, 428 So. 2d 363 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983).
Pastoria v. State, 312 So. 2d 808 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975).
— 817.60(5) — 1 case
Levi v. State, 297 So. 2d 617 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974).
— 817.60(6) — 1 case
State v. McCurdy, 257 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972). “Section 3(6) of the 1967 Act, which has been brought down in the current compilations as F.S. § 817.60 (6), F.S.A., provides that— “A person who, with intent to defraud a purported issuer or .”
— 817.60(7) — 1 case
Simmons v. State, 594 So. 2d 853 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). “Next, although not raised by the appellant, the written sentence reflects that appellant was charged under section 817.60, Florida Statutes, with five counts of forgery of a credit card ticket.”
— 817.60(8) — 2 cases
In re Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report No. 2012-04, 131 So. 3d 720 (Fla. 2013). “8 UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A STOLEN [CREDIT] [DEBIT] CARD § 817.60(8), Fla. Stat. To prove the crime of Unlawful Possession of a Stolen [Credit] [Debit] Card, the State must prove the following four elements beyond a reasonable doubt: L (Defendant) knowingly [possessed] [received]…”
In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report 2018-10., 259 So. 3d 765 (Fla. 2018). “8 UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A STOLEN [CREDIT] [DEBIT] CARD § 817.60(8), Fla. Stat. To prove the crime of Unlawful Possession of a Stolen [Credit] [Debit] Card, the State must prove the following four elements beyond a reasonable doubt: 1.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, a Jacksonville, Florida criminal defense attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). Attorney Syfert regularly handles Chapter 817 matters in the context of fraud and white collar defense and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.