THEFT OF „PLASTIC MONEY” – REFLECTING ON THE CONCEPT OF A PAYMENT CARD AND ITS THEFT

Abstract

 

The subject of considerations made in this article are related issues with the concept of a payment card and the legal qualification of its theft, depending on whether it is a payment card or an ATM card. After analyzing the literature and jurisprudence, the author comes to the conclusion that only the theft of an ATM card should be qualified as an offense under Art. 278 § 5 of the Criminal Code. On the other hand, the theft of a card with a payment function, depending on the value of the executive object, may constitute theft under Art. 278 § 1 of the Criminal Code (if the value of the executive subject exceeds PLN 500) or offenses under Art. 119 § 1 of the Petty Offenses Code (if the value of the executive subject does not exceed PLN 500). In conclusion, the author also points out that in a situation where a card with a payment function has been stolen, the value of the subject of the theft is the entire amount of money on the owner's account at the time of the theft.