N.Y. Laws » CHAPTER Penal / PART Specific Offenses / TITLE Offenses Involving Fraud / ARTICLE Other Frauds
New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Penal Law § 190.77 (2026)

Offenses involving theft of identity; definitions

✓ text as retrieved May 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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§ 190.77 Offenses involving theft of identity; definitions.
  1. For the purposes of sections 190.78, 190.79, 190.80, 190.80-a and
190.85 of this article "personal identifying information" means a
person's name, address, telephone number, date of birth, driver's
license number, social security number, place of employment, mother's
maiden name, financial services account number or code, savings account
number or code, checking account number or code, brokerage account
number or code, credit card account number or code, debit card number or
code, automated teller machine number or code, taxpayer identification
number, computer system password, signature or copy of a signature,
electronic signature, unique biometric data that is a fingerprint, voice
print, retinal image or iris image of another person, telephone calling
card number, mobile identification number or code, electronic serial
number or personal identification number, medical information, health
insurance information, or any other name, number, code or information
that may be used alone or in conjunction with other such information to
assume the identity of another person.
  2. For the purposes of subdivision one of this section and sections
190.78, 190.79, 190.80, 190.80-a, 190.81, 190.82, 190.83 and 190.85 of
this article:
  a. "electronic signature" shall have the same meaning as defined in
subdivision three of section three hundred two of the state technology
law.
  b. "personal identification number" means any number or code which may
be used alone or in conjunction with any other information to assume the
identity of another person or access financial resources or credit of
another person.
  c. "member of the armed forces" shall mean a person in the military
service of the United States or the military service of the state,
including but not limited to, the armed forces of the United States, the
army national guard, the air national guard, the New York naval militia,
the New York guard, and such additional forces as may be created by the
federal or state government as authorized by law.
  d. "medical information" means any information regarding an
individual's medical history, mental or physical condition, or medical
treatment or diagnosis by a health care professional.
  e. "health insurance information" means an individual's health
insurance policy number or subscriber identification number, any unique
identifier used by a health insurer to identify the individual or any
information in an individual's application and claims history,
including, but not limited to, appeals history.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2006–2025 · leading case: People v. Roberts, 31 N.Y.3d 406 (2018).
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People v. Roberts, 31 N.Y.3d 406 (2018). · cites it 5× “e type of data commonly used in transacting commercial matters such as a person's name; address; telephone number; Social Security number; checking, savings, debit card, or credit card account number or code; signature, or "any other name, number, code or information that may be…”
People v. Destin, 150 A.D.3d 76 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep't 2017). · cites it 4× “Assuming without deciding that in this context a bank is a “person” whose identity could be stolen (see Penal Law § 190.77), we nevertheless hold that the evidence in this case was legally insufficient to support the verdict of guilty of identity theft in the first degree.”
People v. Barden, 117 A.D.3d 216 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep't 2014). · cites it 2× “The statute’s definitional section (Penal Law § 190.77) helps to elucidate our query.”
Matter of Hepps v. New York State Dept. of Health, 183 A.D.3d 283 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep't 2020). “Footnote 8: The Legislature created a separate crime for identity theft in 2002 ( see Penal Law § 190.77 et seq. ), describing it as "one of the fastest growing financial crimes," which the Court of Appeals explained was based upon "a growing awareness across the country and in…”
People v. Roberts, 138 A.D.3d 461 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep't 2016). “Here, while the proof was clear that defendant used the personal identifying information of the victim (see Penal Law § 190.77 [1]), there was no proof that he assumed her identity.”
People v. Lloyd, 118 A.D.3d 1117 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep't 2014). “A “personal identification number” is defined as “any number or code which may be used alone or in conjunction with any other information to assume the identity of another person or access financial re *1121 sources or credit of another person” (Penal Law § 190.77 [2] [b]). In…”
People v. Rush, 148 A.D.3d 1601 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dep't 2017). “, that person’s name and bank account number (see Penal Law § 190.77 [1]), to defraud the bank herein (see § 190.”
People v. Debranche, 38 Misc. 3d 872 (N.Y. City Civ. Ct. 2012). “’ That crime, also a class A misdemeanor, is committed when a person ‘impersonates another and does an act in such assumed character with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another.”
People v. Boehlke, 137 A.D.3d 1321 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep't 2016). “The jury was free to, and did, credit the proof that defendant, without the knowledge or permission of the victim, used her ATM card and personal identification number to obtain over $2,000 from an ATM (see Penal Law §§ 190.77, 190.80 [1]). Those actions “impl[y] that the person…”
People v. Essalek, 17 Misc. 3d 835 (N.Y. City Crim. Ct. 2007). “Possession of any information included in Penal Law § 190.77 (1) is the gravamen of the complaint.”
The People v. Frederic Badji, 165 N.E.3d 1068 (N.Y. 2021). · cites it 2× “For the purposes of these new Penal Law offenses, the act defined personal identifying information to include a host of intangible information, including credit card account numbers (see Penal Law § 190.77 [1]). The act did not expressly amend any then-existing Penal Law…”
People v. Barden, 117 A.D.3d 216 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep't 2014). · cites it 2× “The statute’s definitional section (Penal Law § 190.77) helps to elucidate our query.”
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