One photograph portrays the 'crooked' counterfeit card, resulting from the incorrect positioning of the embossing machine when the card was counterfeited. Account numbers for counterfeit credit cards may come from a variety of sources, including carbon slips from credit card invoices found in the trash of expensive restaurants and shops. The 'scratched' card results from the marring of cards created by painting over cards cut from white plastic. The 'overstriked' counterfeit card is created by embossing revisions after the original embossing has been lowered to the flat position by placing the card in boiling water. In some cases, the embossing machine strikes too hard, leaving a small imprinted square around the new lettering. Uneven lines on the colored portions may be caused by the heat used to flatten the raised letters and numbers. Congress is presently debating legislation proscribing the counterfeiting of credit cards, so as to plug 'loopholes' in the present law that permit card counterfeiters to go unpunished. Also included is a list of characteristics and behaviors of customers attempting to commit credit card fraud.