title 18 (ch. 41) INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS

Question 1

Forgery

Answer 1

S. 4101

Offense defined.–A person is guilty of forgery if, with intent to defraud or injure anyone, or with knowledge that he is facilitating a fraud or injury to be perpetrated by anyone, the actor:

(1) alters any writing of another without his authority;

(2) makes, completes, executes, authenticates, issues or transfers any writing so that it purports to be the act of another who did not authorize that act, or to have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case, or to be a copy of an original when no such original existed; or

(3) utters any writing which he knows to be forged in a manner specified in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection.

Question 2

Tampering with records or identification

Answer 2

S. 4104

Writings.–A person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if, knowing that he has no privilege to do so, he falsifies, destroys, removes or conceals any writing or record, or distinguishing mark or brand or other identification with intent to deceive or injure anyone or to conceal any wrongdoing.

(b) Personal property.–A person commits a summary offense if he knowingly buys, sells or moves in commerce any personal property from which the manufacturer’s name plate, serial number or any other distinguishing number or identification mark has been removed, defaced, covered, altered or destroyed unless the alterations have been customarily made or done as an established practice in the ordinary and regular conduct of business by the original manufacturer or under specific authorization and direction from the original manufacturer. Personal property as set forth in this subsection shall not include firearms, motor vehicles or insurance company salvage recoveries.

(c) Innocent alterations.–If property subject to the provisions of this section has had its identifying marks defaced or eliminated innocently and is in the possession of its rightful owner, the owner may, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) or (b), dispose of the property by sale or otherwise if he delivers to the acquirer a notarized statement that the property was innocently altered and that the person disposing of it is its rightful owner.

Question 3

Bad checks

Answer 3

S. 4105

Offense defined.–

(1) A person commits an offense if he issues or passes a check or similar sight order for the payment of money, knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee.

(2) A person commits an offense if he, knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee, issues or passes a check or similar sight order for the payment of money when the drawee is located within this Commonwealth. A violation of this paragraph shall occur without regard to whether the location of the issuance or passing of the check or similar sight order is within or outside of this Commonwealth. It shall be no defense to a violation of this section that some or all of the acts constituting the offense occurred outside of this Commonwealth

Question 4

Access device fraud.

Answer 4

S. 4106

Offense defined.–A person commits an offense if he:

(1) uses an access device to obtain or in an attempt to obtain property or services with knowledge that:

(i) the access device is counterfeit, altered or incomplete;

(ii) the access device was issued to another person who has not authorized its use;

(iii) the access device has been revoked or canceled; or

(iv) for any other reason his use of the access device is unauthorized by the issuer or the device holder; or

(2) publishes, makes, sells, gives, or otherwise transfers to another, or offers or advertises, or aids and abets any other person to use an access device knowing that the access device is counterfeit, altered or incomplete, belongs to another person who has not authorized its use, has been revoked or canceled or for any reason is unauthorized by the issuer or the device holder; or

(3) possesses an access device knowing that it is counterfeit, altered, incomplete or belongs to another person who has not authorized its possession.

Question 5

Identity theft

Answer 5

S. 4120

Offense defined.–A person commits the offense of identity theft of another person if he possesses or uses, through any means, identifying information of another person without the consent of that other person to further any unlawful purpose.

Question 6

Possession and use of unlawful devices

Answer 6

S. 4121

Offense defined.–A person commits an offense if:

(1) The person, with the intent to defraud another person:

(i) uses a device to access, read, obtain, memorize or store, temporarily or permanently, information encoded on the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a payment card or possesses a device capable of doing so; or

(ii) places information encoded on the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a payment card onto the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a different card or possesses a device capable of doing so.

(2) The person knowingly possesses, sells or delivers a device which is designed to read and store in the device’s internal memory information encoded on a computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a payment card other than for the purpose of processing the information to facilitate a financial transaction.