Credit card fraud is when someone uses your credit card or credit account to make a purchase you didn't authorize. This activity can happen in different ways. For example, if you lose your credit card or have it stolen, it can be used to make purchases or other transactions, either in person or online. And fraudsters can also steal your credit card account number, PIN and security code to make unauthorized transactions, without needing your physical credit card—unlawful transactions like these are known as card-not-present fraud.

Identity theft involves the use of illegally obtained information about you, like your name, birthday, Social Security number, credit card numbers and more, in order to use existing credit accounts or open new ones in your name. When this happens, criminals capture the spending power of your credit while you get stuck with the bill.

In Connecticut, credit card fraud and identity theft are serious criminal offenses. Under Connecticut General Statutes Section 53a-128c, a person commits credit card fraud when they, with intent to defraud, use a credit card they know is revoked, cancelled, or expired, or which is not issued to them, to obtain money, goods, services, or anything else of value. This also includes using someone else's credit card information without authorization. The severity of the punishment for credit card fraud depends on the value of the goods or services obtained and can range from a misdemeanor for smaller amounts to a felony for larger amounts. Identity theft is addressed under Connecticut General Statutes Sections 53a-129a to 53a-129d, which define different degrees of identity theft based on the amount of financial loss suffered by the victim. Penalties for identity theft can be severe, including imprisonment, fines, and restitution. Both state and federal laws, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, provide additional protections and remedies for victims of credit card fraud and identity theft, including the right to dispute unauthorized transactions and to have erroneous information corrected in their credit reports.