Huaxi Metropolitan News report (Fu Yi, reporter Luo Xuan) - What should you do if you find someone else's lost credit card at an ATM? A woman named Jiang from Weiyuan encountered this situation. Instead of turning the card in, she withdrew nearly 10,000 yuan from the card. Recently, the Weiyuan County Court sentenced Jiang to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and fined her 20,000 yuan for suspected credit card fraud.
On January 26, while withdrawing cash at a Construction Bank ATM on Nandajie Street in Weiyuan County, Jiang found a bank credit card left behind by someone who had already entered the password. Jiang then withdrew 9,300 yuan from the credit card in seven separate transactions and kept the money for herself.
Afterwards, the owner of the lost credit card discovered the theft and reported it to the police. Through the surveillance (camera) equipment at the ATM, the police were able to lock onto evidence of Jiang withdrawing multiple amounts from the victim's credit card account. Jiang was arrested on suspicion of committing a crime and later handed over to the Weiyuan County Court Criminal Trial Division for review, as reported by Sohu Space.
During the trial, defendant Jiang expressed deep regret, acknowledging that her actions stemmed from a momentary greed that led her to commit a crime. However, she believed her behavior constituted unjust enrichment or possibly embezzlement, and she was willing to accept legal punishment. She pleaded with the court to consider her first offense and her willingness to compensate the victim’s loss, requesting leniency.
The Weiyuan County Court ruled that defendant Jiang picked up another person's credit card and password in a specific location without the cardholder's consent or authorization, misusing the credit card to defraud money. This action is no longer considered a civil violation but rather constitutes credit card fraud. One of the elements of embezzlement is the refusal to return or hand over another person's property, which requires the other party to have made a claim. This does not align with Jiang's behavior of picking up and using another person's credit card, so her actions cannot be classified as embezzlement. Therefore, her behavior constitutes credit card fraud. Considering that Jiang has compensated the victim's losses, the court decided to make the above judgment accordingly.