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Identity theft and computer crimes
Summary of the topic
This topic joins one section of Chapter 32 to the whole of Chapter 33 and to the part of the Code of Criminal Procedure that tells an officer how to get evidence from a service provider.
Section 32.51 is committed by a person who, with intent to harm or defraud another, obtains, possesses, transfers or uses identifying information of another person without consent. Identifying information includes a name and date of birth, biometric data, an account number, and a social security or other government-issued number. The section also covers information of a deceased person and of a child younger than 18. The actor is presumed to have the intent to harm or defraud if the actor possesses the information of three or more persons, although the presumption does not apply to a business or government agency engaged in lawful activity. The grade depends on the number of items: fewer than five is a state jail felony, five to nine a third degree felony, 10 to 49 a second degree felony, and 50 or more a first degree felony.
Section 33.01 supplies the definitions that decide most questions in Chapter 33, including access, effective consent, owner, aggregate amount and harm. Under section 33.02(a) it is an offense to knowingly access a computer, network or system without the owner's effective consent. That is a Class B misdemeanor, or a state jail felony where the actor has two or more previous convictions or the system is owned by the government or a critical infrastructure facility. Section 33.02(b-1) is the aggravated form, committed with intent to defraud or harm another or to alter, damage or delete property, and it is graded by the aggregate amount on the same seven bands, from a Class C misdemeanor to a first degree felony.
Section 33.07 covers online impersonation, using another's name or persona without consent to create a web page or send messages with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten, which is a third degree felony. Section 33.022 makes it a third degree felony to interrupt access to a computer system without the owner's effective consent, and section 33.023 covers electronic data tampering and ransomware.
Chapter 18B of the Code of Criminal Procedure governs stored customer data. The contents of a communication in electronic storage can be required only with a warrant issued by a district judge on a sworn affidavit showing probable cause. Data limited to the customer's identity or use of the service can be obtained by subpoena or court order, among other routes. A warrant for this data must be executed within 11 days, or a shorter period the judge sets.
Provisions this topic covers
- Tex. Penal Code sec. 32.51
- Tex. Penal Code ch. 33
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