Defend Yourself Against Theft Charges

Summary
Theft charges can range from something relatively minor (like a teen caught shoplifting a pack of cigarettes) to major white collar crimes like insurance fraud or embezzlement. The one thing all types of theft charges have in common is the nature of depriving someone (or a company) of something, whether that is merchandise or money. To help you realize the broad scope of potential theft charges you could find yourself faced with, we've compiled this list of theft types.

Retail theft charges
This includes minor theft charges like shoplifting or sweethearting (when cashiers give unauthorized discounts or free merchandise to people they know), as well as more serious theft charges such as employee theft or robbery.

Credit Card Fraud
With theft charges related to credit card fraud, the thief either steals someone's physical credit card or their credit card information (credit card number, expiration date, name, and security code). The extent of the theft charges can depend on how that stolen credit card information is used.

Bad Check Theft
When you intentionally issue a bad check for a product or service, that's also subject to theft charges. You're getting the product or service fully knowing that you can't pay for it.

Identity Theft Charges
Identity theft is heavily tied to credit card fraud. Often, when someone steals an identity (getting a social security number, name, address, etc.), they'll use it to open new, unauthorized credit cards where they have no intention of paying the bill. Basically, they charge items under someone else's name, expecting to leave them with the debt, and instead leaving themselves facing serious theft charges.

Burglary Theft Charges
Burglary involves breaking into someone's home or business to steal something (they might steal products, supplies, or even information). Think of the traditional scene of a home being robbed and looted for electronics, jewelry, and other valuable items.

Larceny Charges
Larceny is a type of physical theft charge, often tied to crimes like burglary. Larceny (or grand larceny depending on the value of the items stolen) simply means that someone physically took a tangible item without authorization, had control over it, and moved it. For example, if someone grabbed a designer handbag off the arm of a woman on the street and ran away with it, that would constitute larceny and bring on theft charges. So would entering someone's home, taking their television, and driving away with it.

Insurance Fraud
Insurance fraud theft charges are where the perpetrator lies to try to solicit undeserved money from insurance companies (such as saying an insured piece of artwork was stolen, when they've actually hidden it).

Embezzlement Charges
Embezzlement theft charges usually happens when employees (or contractors) steal funds from those they work for. For example, an executive might control a portion of the budget which is supposed to go towards building contractors. They may misuse that allotted budget by cutting corners (such as authorizing cheaper materials) and then pocket the extra money (or transfer it to a dummy account of their own). Embezzlement theft charges can occur at either the state or federal level.

Other Types of Fraud / Theft Charges
Credit card holders and insurance companies aren't the only potential fraud victims out there. You can also face theft charges for other types of fraud. For example, Ponzi schemes (shuffling money around to make investments appear profitable so you can secure even more investors) are hardly taken lightly.