Is it a form of identity theft for an authorized user on a credit card to change the address on the account?
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Is it a form of identity theft for an authorized user on a credit card to change the address on the account?
In order to conceal activity from the account holder?
Asked on April 1, 2011 under General Practice, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
It would probably not be "identity theft" in that the authorized user is not assuming the identity of the account holder. However, it would be both a tort (something that could be sued over) and possibly a crime (e.g. a form of theft) if the user then misused the card, such as by making purchases that the account holder would not approve of, had not agreed to, exceeded the card limits, etc.. Basically, if someone feels the need to ask if something would be a crime, then doing it is probably improper and--depending on the exact circumstances--could result in one or another form of legal liability.
The authorized user, by the way, should not even be able to do this: the bank should only made changes at the best of the account holder. If the authorized user misrepresented him/herself to make this change, that could be identify theft.
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