Virginia Identity Theft
VA Code § 18.2-186.3 - § 18.2-186.4
Code of Virginia
Title 18.2 - Crimes and Offenses Generally
Chapter 6 - Crimes Involving Fraud
§ 18.2-186.3. Identity theft; penalty; restitution; victim assistance
§ 18.2-186.3. Identity theft; penalty; restitution; victim assistance
§ 18.2-186.3:1. Identity fraud; consumer reporting agencies; police reports
§ 18.2-186.4. Use of a person's identity with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass; penalty
§ 18.2-186.3. Identity theft; penalty; restitution; victim assistance.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person, without the authorization or permission of the person or persons who are the subjects of the identifying information, with the intent to defraud, for his own use or the use of a third person, to:
1. Obtain, record, or access identifying information which is not available to the general public that would assist in accessing financial resources, obtaining identification documents, or obtaining benefits of such other person;
2. Obtain money, credit, loans, goods, or services through the use of identifying information of such other person;
3. Obtain identification documents in such other person's name; or
4. Obtain, record, or access identifying information while impersonating a law-enforcement officer or an official of the government of the Commonwealth.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person without the authorization or permission of the person who is the subject of the identifying information, with the intent to sell or distribute the information to another to:
1. Fraudulently obtain, record, or access identifying information that is not available to the general public that would assist in accessing financial resources, obtaining identification documents, or obtaining benefits of such other person;
2. Obtain money, credit, loans, goods, or services through the use of identifying information of such other person;
3. Obtain identification documents in such other person's name; or
4. Obtain, record, or access identifying information while impersonating a law-enforcement officer or an official of the Commonwealth.
B1. It shall be unlawful for any person to use identification documents or identifying information of another person, whether that person is dead or alive, or of a false or fictitious person, to avoid summons, arrest, prosecution, or to impede a criminal investigation.
C. As used in this section, "identifying information" shall include but not be limited to: (i) name; (ii) date of birth; (iii) social security number; (iv) driver's license number; (v) bank account numbers; (vi) credit or debit card numbers; (vii) personal identification numbers (PIN); (viii) electronic identification codes; (ix) automated or electronic signatures; (x) biometric data; (xi) fingerprints; (xii) passwords; or (xiii) any other numbers or information that can be used to access a person's financial resources, obtain identification, act as identification, or obtain money, credit, loans, goods, or services.
D. Violations of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any violation resulting in financial loss of $1,000 or more shall be punishable as a Class 6 felony. Any second or subsequent conviction shall be punishable as a Class 6 felony. Any violation of subsection B where five or more persons' identifying information has been obtained, recorded, or accessed in the same transaction or occurrence shall be punishable as a Class 5 felony. Any violation of subsection B where 50 or more persons' identifying information has been obtained, recorded, or accessed in the same transaction or occurrence shall be punishable as a Class 4 felony. Any violation resulting in the arrest and detention of the person whose identification documents or identifying information were used to avoid summons, arrest, prosecution, or to impede a criminal investigation shall be punishable as a Class 5 felony. In any proceeding brought pursuant to this section, the crime shall be considered to have been committed in any locality where the person whose identifying information was appropriated resides, or in which any part of the offense took place, regardless of whether the defendant was ever actually in such locality.
E. Upon conviction, in addition to any other punishment, a person found guilty of this offense shall be ordered by the court to make restitution as the court deems appropriate to any person whose identifying information was appropriated or to the estate of such person. Such restitution may include the person's or his estate's actual expenses associated with correcting inaccuracies or errors in his credit report or other identifying information.
F. Upon the request of a person whose identifying information was appropriated, the Attorney General may provide assistance to the victim in obtaining information necessary to correct inaccuracies or errors in his credit report or other identifying information; however, no legal representation shall be afforded such person.
2000, c. 349; 2001, c. 423; 2003, cc. 847, 914, 918; 2004, c. 450; 2006, cc. 455, 496; 2007, c. 441; 2009, cc. 314, 380; 2013, cc. 420, 466; 2018, cc. 764, 765; 2020, cc. 89, 401.
§ 18.2-186.3:1. Identity fraud; consumer reporting agencies; police reports.
A. A consumer may report a case of identity theft to the law-enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where he resides. If a consumer, as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., submits to a consumer reporting agency, as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., a copy of a valid police report, the consumer reporting agency shall, within 30 days of receipt thereof, block the reporting of any information that the consumer alleges appears on his credit report, as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., as a result of a violation of § 18.2-186.3. The consumer reporting agency shall promptly notify the furnisher of the information that a police report has been filed, that a block has been requested, and the effective date of the block.
B. Consumer reporting agencies may decline to block or may rescind any block of consumer information if, in the exercise of good faith and reasonable judgment, the consumer reporting agency believes that: (i) the information was blocked due to a misrepresentation of a material fact by the consumer; (ii) the information was blocked due to fraud, in which the consumer participated, or of which the consumer had knowledge, and which may for purposes of this section be demonstrated by circumstantial evidence; (iii) the consumer agrees that portions of the blocked information or all of it were blocked in error; (iv) the consumer knowingly obtained or should have known that he obtained possession of goods, services, or moneys as a result of the blocked transaction or transactions; or (v) the consumer reporting agency, in the exercise of good faith and reasonable judgment, has substantial reason based on specific, verifiable facts to doubt the authenticity of the consumer's report of a violation of § 18.2-186.3.
C. If blocked information is unblocked pursuant to this section, the consumer shall be notified in the same manner as consumers are notified of the reinsertion of information pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act at 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, as amended. The prior presence of the blocked information in the consumer reporting agency's file on the consumer is not evidence of whether the consumer knew or should have known that he obtained possession of any goods, services, or moneys.
D. A consumer reporting agency shall accept the consumer's version of the disputed information and correct the disputed item when the consumer submits to the consumer reporting agency documentation obtained from the source of the item in dispute or from public records confirming that the report was inaccurate or incomplete, unless the consumer reporting agency, in the exercise of good faith and reasonable judgment, has substantial reason based on specific, verifiable facts to doubt the authenticity of the documentation submitted and notifies the consumer in writing of that decision, explaining its reasons for unblocking the information and setting forth the specific, verifiable facts on which the decision is based.
E. A consumer reporting agency shall delete from a consumer credit report inquiries for credit reports based upon credit requests that the consumer reporting agency verifies were initiated as a result of a violation of § 18.2-186.3.
F. The provisions of this section do not apply to (i) a consumer reporting agency that acts as a reseller of credit information by assembling and merging information contained in the databases of other consumer reporting agencies, and that does not maintain a permanent database of credit information from which new consumer credit reports are produced, (ii) a check services or fraud prevention services company that issues reports on incidents of fraud or authorizations for the purpose of approving or processing negotiable instruments, electronic funds transfers, or similar payment methods, or (iii) a demand deposit account information service company that issues reports regarding account closures due to fraud, substantial overdrafts, automatic teller machine abuse or similar negative information regarding a consumer to inquiring banks or other financial institutions for use only in reviewing a consumer request for a demand deposit account at the inquiring bank or financial institution.
2003, cc. 914, 918; 2006, c. 298.
§ 18.2-186.4. Use of a person's identity with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass; penalty.
It shall be unlawful for any person, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass another person, to publish the person's name or photograph along with identifying information as defined in clauses (iii) through (ix), or clause (xii) of subsection C of § 18.2-186.3, or identification of the person's primary residence address. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Any person who violates this section knowing or having reason to know that person is a law-enforcement officer, as defined in § 9.1-101, is guilty of a Class 6 felony. The sentence shall include a mandatory minimum term of confinement of six months.
2001, cc. 775, 782; 2007, c. 736; 2010, c. 767.
The chapters of the acts of assembly referenced in the historical citation at the end of this section may not constitute a comprehensive list of such chapters and may exclude chapters whose provisions have expired.
For more information, see here: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter6/section18.2-186.3/
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