When a person forges another’s name on a check or uses a fake credit card or driver’s license, he is considered to have committed Identity Theft. Some of the crimes in this category are Forgery and Credit Card Fraud.  The usual scenario is where a person has a driver’s license with his photograph and someone else’s name.  This person also has credit cards in the name of the person listed on the driver’s license.  When he uses these credit cards belonging to another, he presents the forged driver’s license as a form of identification.  Another common situation is when one uses his own driver’s license with his real photograph and name.  The credit cards also have this person’s real name on them.  The magnetic strip on the back of each credit card, however, is coded with information belonging to someone else.  Another common violation is counterfeiting, where one prints new bills or uses washes the paint off of old small bills and then prints larger bills on the resulting paper thereby preserving the security markings and the special paper.  These violations are described in Penal Code Sections 470 et. seq.

These crimes have become more frequent in recent years.  This means that the sentences being handed out by the Los Angeles County Courts are somewhat severe in order to curb this recent trend.