1644                            Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 632

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That new Section 142A be and it is hereby added to Article 27 of the
Annotated Code of Maryland (1971 Replacement Volume), title and
subtitle "Crimes and Punishments," subheading "False Pretenses,
Bad Checks, Etc.," to follow immediately after Section 142 thereof,
and to read as follows:

142A.

(a) For the purposes of this section:

(a) (1) "Cardholder" means the person or organization named
on the face of a credit card to whom or for whose benefit the credit
card is issued by an insurer ISSUER.

(2)    "Credit card" means an instrument or device, whether
known as a credit card, credit plate, or by any other name, issued by
an issuer for the use of the cardholder in obtaining money, goods,
services or anything else of value on credit.

(3)    "Issuer" means the business organization or financial institu-
tion which issues a credit card or its duly authorized agent.

(4) "Receives" or "receiving" means acquiring possession or con-
trol of a credit card.

(5) "Revoked credit card" means a credit card which is no longer
valid because permission to use it has been suspended or terminated

by the insurer.

(b) A person who makes or causes to be made, either directly or
indirectly, any false statement in writing, knowing it to be false and
with intent that it be relied on, respecting his identity or that of any
other person, firm or corporation, or as to a material fact about his

financial condition, or that of any other person, firm or corporation,

for the purpose of procuring the issuance of a credit card, violates
this section and is subject to the penalties set forth in (j) (H)(1) of
this section.

(c)(1) A person who takes a credit card from a person, OR
FROM THE possession, custody or control of another without the
cardholder's consent or who, with knowledge that it has been so
taken, receives the credit card with intent to use it or to sell it or to
transfer it to a person other than the issuer or the cardholder is
guilty of credit card theft and is subject to the penalties set forth in
(j) (H)(1) of this section.

(2) A person who receives a credit card that he knows to have
been lost, mislaid, or delivered under a mistake as to the identity or
address of the cardholder, and who retains possession with intent to
use it or to sell it or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or
the cardholder is guilty of a credit card theft and is subject to the
penalties set forth in (j) (H)(1) of this section.

(3) A person other than the issuer who sells a credit card or a
person who buys a credit card from a person other than the issuer
violates this Act and is subject to the penalties set forth in (j) (H) (1)
of this section.

(4) A person, other than the issuer who receives a credit card
which he knows was taken or retained under circumstances which