720 ILCS 5/17-0.5

(720 ILCS 5/17-0.5)

Sec. 17-0.5. Definitions. In this Article:

"Altered credit card or debit card" means any instrument or device, whether known as a credit card or debit card, which has been changed in any respect by addition or deletion of any material, except for the signature by the person to whom the card is issued.

"Cardholder" means the person or organization named on the face of a credit card or debit card to whom or for whose benefit the credit card or debit card is issued by an issuer.

"Computer" means a device that accepts, processes, stores, retrieves, or outputs data and includes, but is not limited to, auxiliary storage, including cloud-based networks of remote services hosted on the Internet, and telecommunications devices connected to computers.

"Computer network" means a set of related, remotely connected devices and any communications facilities including more than one computer with the capability to transmit data between them through the communications facilities.

"Computer program" or "program" means a series of coded instructions or statements in a form acceptable to a computer which causes the computer to process data and supply the results of the data processing.

"Computer services" means computer time or services, including data processing services, Internet services, electronic mail services, electronic message services, or information or data stored in connection therewith.

"Counterfeit" means to manufacture, produce or create, by any means, a credit card or debit card without the purported issuer's consent or authorization.

"Credit card" means any instrument or device, whether known as a credit card, credit plate, charge plate or any other name, issued with or without fee by an issuer for the use of the cardholder in obtaining money, goods, services or anything else of value on credit or in consideration or an undertaking or guaranty by the issuer of the payment of a check drawn by the cardholder.

"Data" means a representation in any form of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or instructions, including program documentation, which is prepared or has been prepared in a formalized manner and is stored or processed in or transmitted by a computer or in a system or network. Data is considered property and may be in any form, including, but not limited to, printouts, magnetic or optical storage media, punch cards, or data stored internally in the memory of the computer.

"Debit card" means any instrument or device, known by any name, issued with or without fee by an issuer for the use of the cardholder in obtaining money, goods, services, and anything else of value, payment of which is made against funds previously deposited by the cardholder. A debit card which also can be used to obtain money, goods, services and anything else of value on credit shall not be considered a debit card when it is being used to obtain money, goods, services or anything else of value on credit.

"Document" includes, but is not limited to, any document, representation, or image produced manually, electronically, or by computer.

"Electronic fund transfer terminal" means any machine or device that, when properly activated, will perform any of the following services:

(1) Dispense money as a debit to the cardholder's account; or

(2) Print the cardholder's account balances on a statement; or

(3) Transfer funds between a cardholder's accounts; or

(4) Accept payments on a cardholder's loan; or

(5) Dispense cash advances on an open end credit or a revolving charge agreement; or

(6) Accept deposits to a customer's account; or

(7) Receive inquiries of verification of checks and dispense information that verifies that funds are available to cover such checks; or

(8) Cause money to be transferred electronically from a cardholder's account to an account held by any business, firm, retail merchant, corporation, or any other organization.

"Electronic funds transfer system", hereafter referred to as "EFT System", means that system whereby funds are transferred electronically from a cardholder's account to any other account.

"Electronic mail service provider" means any person who (i) is an intermediary in sending or receiving electronic mail and (ii) provides to end-users of electronic mail services the ability to send or receive electronic mail.

"Expired credit card or debit card" means a credit card or debit card which is no longer valid because the term on it has elapsed.

"False academic degree" means a certificate, diploma, transcript, or other document purporting to be issued by an institution of higher learning or purporting to indicate that a person has completed an organized academic program of study at an institution of higher learning when the person has not completed the organized academic program of study indicated on the certificate, diploma, transcript, or other document.

"False claim" means any statement made to any insurer, purported insurer, servicing corporation, insurance broker, or insurance agent, or any agent or employee of one of those entities, and made as part of, or in support of, a claim for payment or other benefit under a policy of insurance, or as part of, or in support of, an application for the issuance of, or the rating of, any insurance policy, when the statement does any of the following:

(1) Contains any false, incomplete, or misleading information concerning any fact or thing material to the claim.

(2) Conceals (i) the occurrence of an event that is material to any person's initial or continued right or entitlement to any insurance benefit or payment or (ii) the amount of any benefit or payment to which the person is entitled.

"Financial institution" means any bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or other depository of money or medium of savings and collective investment.

"Governmental entity" means: each officer, board, commission, and agency created by the Constitution, whether in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of State government; each officer, department, board, commission, agency, institution, authority, university, and body politic and corporate of the State; each administrative unit or corporate outgrowth of State government that is created by or pursuant to statute, including units of local government and their officers, school districts, and boards of election commissioners; and each administrative unit or corporate outgrowth of the foregoing items and as may be created by executive order of the Governor.

"Incomplete credit card or debit card" means a credit card or debit card which is missing part of the matter other than the signature of the cardholder which an issuer requires to appear on the credit card or debit card before it can be used by a cardholder, and this includes credit cards or debit cards which have not been stamped, embossed, imprinted or written on.

"Institution of higher learning" means a public or private college, university, or community college located in the State of Illinois that is authorized by the Board of Higher Education or the Illinois Community College Board to issue post-secondary degrees, or a public or private college, university, or community college located anywhere in the United States that is or has been legally constituted to offer degrees and instruction in its state of origin or incorporation.

"Insurance company" means "company" as defined under Section 2 of the Illinois Insurance Code.

"Issuer" means the business organization or financial institution which issues a credit card or debit card, or its duly authorized agent.

"Merchant" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 16-0.1 of this Code.

"Person" means any individual, corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association or any other entity.

"Receives" or "receiving" means acquiring possession or control.

"Record of charge form" means any document submitted or intended to be submitted to an issuer as evidence of a credit transaction for which the issuer has agreed to reimburse persons providing money, goods, property, services or other things of value.

"Revoked credit card or debit card" means a credit card or debit card which is no longer valid because permission to use it has been suspended or terminated by the issuer.

"Sale" means any delivery for value.

"Scheme or artifice to defraud" includes a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right to honest services.

"Self-insured entity" means any person, business, partnership, corporation, or organization that sets aside funds to meet his, her, or its losses or to absorb fluctuations in the amount of loss, the losses being charged against the funds set aside or accumulated.

"Social networking website" means an Internet website containing profile web pages of the members of the website that include the names or nicknames of such members, photographs placed on the profile web pages by such members, or any other personal or personally identifying information about such members and links to other profile web pages on social networking websites of friends or associates of such members that can be accessed by other members or visitors to the website. A social networking website provides members of or visitors to such website the ability to leave messages or comments on the profile web page that are visible to all or some visitors to the profile web page and may also include a form of electronic mail for members of the social networking website.

"Statement" means any assertion, oral, written, or otherwise, and includes, but is not limited to: any notice, letter, or memorandum; proof of loss; bill of lading; receipt for payment; invoice, account, or other financial statement; estimate of property damage; bill for services; diagnosis or prognosis; prescription; hospital, medical, or dental chart or other record, x-ray, photograph, videotape, or movie film; test result; other evidence of loss, injury, or expense; computer-generated document; and data in any form.

"Universal Price Code Label" means a unique symbol that consists of a machine-readable code and human-readable numbers.

"With intent to defraud" means to act knowingly, and with the specific intent to deceive or cheat, for the purpose of causing financial loss to another or bringing some financial gain to oneself, regardless of whether any person was actually defrauded or deceived. This includes an intent to cause another to assume, create, transfer, alter, or terminate any right, obligation, or power with reference to any person or property.

(Source: P.A. 101-87, eff. 1-1-20.)