Theft, Use and Forgery of a Credit Card (Sentencing Cases)
| This page was last substantively updated or reviewed January 2022. (Rev. # 93332) |
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Offence Wording
- Theft, forgery, etc., of credit card
342 (1) Every person who
- (a) steals a credit card,
- (b) forges or falsifies a credit card,
- (c) possesses, uses or traffics in a credit card or a forged or falsified credit card, knowing that it was obtained, made or altered
- (i) by the commission in Canada of an offence, or
- (ii) by an act or omission anywhere that, if it had occurred in Canada, would have constituted an offence,
or- (d) uses a credit card knowing that it has been revoked or cancelled,
is guilty of
- (e) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or
- (f) an offence punishable on summary conviction.
[omitted (2)]
- Unauthorized use of credit card data
(3) Every person who, fraudulently and without colour of right, possesses, uses, traffics in or permits another person to use credit card data, including personal authentication information, whether or not the data is authentic, that would enable a person to use a credit card or to obtain the services that are provided by the issuer of a credit card to credit card holders is guilty of
- (a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years; or
- (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.
[omitted (4)]
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 342; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), ss. 44, 185(F); 1997, c. 18, s. 16; 2009, c. 28, s. 4.
[annotation(s) added]
- Instruments for copying credit card data or forging or falsifying credit cards
342.01 (1) Every person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years, or is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction, who, without lawful justification or excuse, makes, repairs, buys, sells, exports from Canada, imports into Canada or possesses any instrument, device, apparatus, material or thing that they know has been used or know is adapted or intended for use
- (a) in the copying of credit card data for use in the commission of an offence under subsection 342(3) [unauthorized use of credit card data – offence]; or
- (b) in the forging or falsifying of credit cards.
[omitted (2) and (3)]
1997, c. 18, s. 17; 2009, c. 28, s. 5.
[annotation(s) added]
Ranges
{{SCaseLong|R v Senthilkumar, , [2007] O.J. No. 4681 (C.J.)(*no CanLII links)| Case Name | Prv. | Crt. | Sentence | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R v Jubbal, 2021 BCSC 851 (CanLII), per Ball J | BC  |
SC |
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| R v Kennedy, 2021 NSSC 322 (CanLII), per Arnold J | NS  |
SC |
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| R v Hardiman, 2014 ONSC 968 (CanLII), per Goldstein J | ON  |
SC |
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| R v Shamshiri, 2013 ONSC 1906 (CanLII), per curiam | ON |
SC | $1,000 and 18 month probation | Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Harvey-Langton, 2012 MBPC 64 (CanLII), per Devine J | MB  |
PC | 5 years imprisonment | The accused and his accomplice were found in possession of the credit card numbers of 2,447 people and the identity information of 2,438 people. Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Chudyk, 2011 SKQB 134 (CanLII), per Gerein J | SK  |
SC | 2.25 years imprisonment (credit card) |
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| R v Khaira, 2011 ABPC 340 (CanLII), per Dunnigan J | AB  |
PC | 14 months imprisonment | The offender couriered three packages from Hong Kong to Canada. They contained 6,000 forged Alberta driver's licences and 14,000 forged credit cards. He was 21 years old and had no prior record. Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Kanagaratnam, 2011 MBPC 72 (CanLII), per Moar J | MB |
PC | 14 months imprisonment | credit card fraud Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Zhang, 2008 BCSC 674 (CanLII), per Bennett J | BC |
SC | discharge | Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Rowe, 2008 BCPC 392 (CanLII), per Spence J | BC |
PC |
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| R v Sandranathan, 2007 ONCJ 261 (CanLII), per Wong J | ON |
PC | 2 years imprisonment (global) 21 months imprisonment (poss'n credit device) 21 months (fraud over) 21 months imprisonment (poss'n forgery device) 21 months imprisonment (poss'n credit data) |
The offender pleaded guilty to 27 counts of credit card skimming and 5 counts breach of conditions. Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Marano, 2007 ABPC 102 (CanLII), [2007] AJ No 425, (Alta. Prov. Ct.), per Van de Veen J |
AB |
PC | 16 months imprisonment | The offender assisted an accomplice install debit card skimming devices and video recorders at the gas station he worked at. The devices recorded a total of 714 transactions. There was no financial loss since they were caught before they could retrieve the data. The offender had been promised $20,000 for his role. He was 26 years old and had a lengthy record that included possession of stolen credit cards. Find summaries of case. | |
| ON |PC| | "the accused pleaded guilty to possession of credit card data. He also pleaded guilty to the possession of machines for counterfeiting cash and forging credit cards. The police seized pinhole cameras used to obtain PIN numbers used by individuals at ATM machines. The police also seized false government identification, blank credit and debit cards, and a startling amount of counterfeit cash. The sentencing judge, Atwood J. of the Ontario Court of Justice, attributed $1.4 million of counterfeit $20 and $50 bills to the offender. After discussing the economic harm engendered by these offences, Atwood J. imposed a sentence of 3 years and two months, after giving the offender credit for three months of pre-trial custody. Significantly, Atwood J. indicated that in his view a sentence of six to seven years would have been appropriate after trial."
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| R v Saade, 2006 NSSC 279 (CanLII), per S MacDonald J | NS |
SC | 2 years imprisonment | The offender was also charged with conspiracy. The offence is said to impact reliance on electronic banking system and is more prevalent than even. Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Naqvi, 2005 ABPC 339 (CanLII), [2005] AJ No 1593 (Alta. Prov. Ct.), per Stevenson J |
AB |
PC | 18 months imprisonment | Find summaries of case. | |
| R v Ali, , [2001] O.J. No. 3757 (Ont. Sup.Ct.)(*no CanLII links) | ON |
SC | 18 months CSO | The two offenders defrauded 6 banks of $139,000 total by hiring gas station attendants to copy debit cards over 3 months. Both accused had no prior record and were responsible for supporting their families. Restitution of $5,000 was made before sentencing with a promise of $10,000 over 12 months after sentence.
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