Yes. In New York, it does not matter if the person lost any money. If you used their credit card without permission, it is a crime. Certainly, if the person did lose money, the more they lost, the more serious the charge against you would be. But even no loss is still a crime. New York’s Identity Theft crimes cover this type of action. While usually we think of this type of fraud for internet or complicated matters, it can also be applied in cases where you use any number of names, codes, or numbers that do not belong to you like somebody’s:
- Telephone number
- Debit / Checking account
- Computer System password
- Electronic signature
Any time you are using any identifying information to benefit yourself, be sure you have the proper authority to do so.