Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 97-19-21 (2026)
Credit cards; use to obtain things of value or to operate automatic cash dispensing machines with intent to defraud; penalties
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) It is unlawful for any person, with intent to defraud the cardholder, the issuer, a person or organization providing money, goods, property, services or anything else of value, or any other person, (a) to use a credit card or credit card number obtained or retained in violation of Sections 97-19-5 through 97-19-29, or a credit card which he knows is forged, for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, property, services or anything else of value, or (b) to obtain money, goods, property, services or anything else of value (i) by representing without the consent of the cardholder that he is the holder of a specified card, or (ii) by representing that he is the holder of a card when he has reason to know that such card has not in fact been issued, or (iii) by representing that he has been authorized to use the credit card or credit card number.
- (2) It is unlawful for any person, with intent to defraud the cardholder or issuer of a credit card used in the operation of an automatic unmanned cash dispensing machine, to use such card for the purpose of obtaining money from such machine.
- (3) Any person convicted for a violation of subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall be punished as follows:
- (a) For a first offense of violating subsection (1) or (2) of this section, whenever the value of the money, goods, property, services or other thing of value obtained or attempted to be obtained is less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), the person committing the offense shall be punished by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
- (b) For a second or subsequent offense of violating subsection (1) or (2) of this section, whenever the value of the money, goods, property, services or other thing of value obtained or attempted to be obtained is less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), the person committing the offense shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a term not to exceed three (3) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
- (c) Whenever the value of the money, goods, property, services or other thing of value obtained or attempted to be obtained is One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or more, the person committing the offense, whether the offense is a first, second or subsequent offense, shall be guilty of a felony and such person, upon conviction, shall be punished as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (3).
- (4) For the purpose of determining the punishment to be imposed under subsection (3) of this section, the value of all money, goods, property, services and other things of value obtained or attempted to be obtained by two (2) or more uses of the same credit card shall be aggregated.
Codes, 1942, § 2148.7-08; Laws, 1968, ch. 345, § 8; Laws, 1979, ch. 402, § 2; Laws, 1992, ch. 384, § 1, eff. 7/1/1992.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5
cases, 2009–2018 · leading case: Ricky Lee Shies v. State of Mississippi, 185 So. 3d 1081 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016).
Ricky Lee Shies v. State of Mississippi, 185 So. 3d 1081 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016). “Miss. Code Ann. § 97-19-21 (3)(b) & (c) (Rev.”
McClendon v. State, 124 So. 3d 709 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013). “3 Here, the State proceeded under the portion of subsection (1) that makes it “unlawful for any person, with intent to defraud the cardholder [or] issuer .”
Xavier Collins Johnson v. State of Mississippi, 235 So. 3d 1404 (Miss. 2017). “2016); and (3) conspiracy to commit credit-card fraud, in violation of Mississippi Code Sections 97-19-21 (Rev. 2014) and 97-1-1 (Rev.”
Nijhawan v. Holder, 557 U.S. 29 (2009). “, Miss. Code Ann. §§ 97-19-21 , 97-19-35, 97-19-39, 97-19-71, 97-19-83 (1994).”
Chad Edward Spiers v. State of Mississippi, 257 So. 3d 842 (Miss. Ct. App. 2018). “In August 2015, Spiers pleaded guilty to credit-card fraud under Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-19-21 (Rev. 2014) and burglary under Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-81 (Rev.”
— Miss. Code Ann. § 97-19-21(1) — 1 case
McClendon v. State, 124 So. 3d 709 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013). “3 Here, the State proceeded under the portion of subsection (1) that makes it “unlawful for any person, with intent to defraud the cardholder [or] issuer .”
— Miss. Code Ann. § 97-19-21(3)(b) — 1 case
Ricky Lee Shies v. State of Mississippi, 185 So. 3d 1081 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016). “Miss. Code Ann. § 97-19-21 (3)(b) & (c) (Rev.”
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