Is it a crime to use your parent's credit card?

Question

What if you changed the mailing address and had it come to you BUT PAID THE BILLS? How can that be a crime? Who is getting hurt if you are paying the bills? Charging stuff for yourself BUT PAYING THE BILLS ON TIME. Please explain. Thank you.

Answer 1

It's a crime to use anyone's credit card without their permission.

If you have your parents' permission to use their card, it's not a crime.

Whether you pay the bills or not is irrelevant to the legality of what you're doing.

Answer 2

It's considered fraud when you don't get your parents permission to use it.. If you changing the address and charging stuff without them knowing it can cause suspicion to the credit card company. These companies do have a fraud dept and can block the card if they feel there's some type of fraud going on.  

Answer 3

Because they credit card company extended the line of credit to your parents, not to you.  And credit companies don't like it when they don't know who they're giving money to.  It may not be "hurting" anyone, but the fact is that you would be pretending to be someone you're not.  Legally, that's identify theft and fraud (in fact by changing the billing address, it may even fall under the category of mail fraud, which is a federal offense).

It's also not benefiting you.  By paying the bills on time, and keeping your parents account in good standing, you're adding to their credit score instead of to your own... and if you don't build your own credit score up, it can be hard to get useful little things like bank loans.  You can't buy a house with a credit card, after all.

Why put in all that wasted effort when you could just get your own card?

Answer 4

You are breaking the law if you use any ones credit card without their express permission. Just because a credit card belongs to your parents, it does not mean you are free to use it in any manner. Many credit card companies will tell you that "express written permission" is required to use a relatives' credit card. If you change the mailing address on someone else's credit card, it is fraud and you are breaking the law.

Answer 5

It's fraud and it's a crime.

Answer 6

sorry its a crime, why dont you just apply and get your own, you dont have to be of age