The testimony points to the recent dramatic rise in credit card fraud, largely through the obtaining of account numbers without the cards and their subsequent fraudulent use. Organized crime figures are believed to be responsible for much of the large-scale activity in credit card fraud. Most of the witnesses advocate some type of Federal legislative action to address the problem. The Justice Department supports a tightening of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Truth-in-Lending statutes, as case law has demonstrated a need to include account numbers and information within the definition of credit card and to expand the prohibited acts to include obtaining or transferring cards as a part of a scheme to defraud. Further, the broadening of both statutes is advocated to provide protection against counterfeiting and alteration. However, the Justice Department does not support the lowering of existing minimum dollar loss requirements for Federal jurisdiction, as ordinary credit card fraud is viewed as an area of local concern traditionally addressed by State and local prosecutors. Regarding the latter issue, a witness from a credit card corporation notes that the minimum-amount stipulation must technically apply to the amount of fraud per account number, which ignores the cumulative amounts involved in fraud perpetrated by organized rings. Representatives of the credit card industry view the problem as being of such significance as to require Federal legislative action. Proposals include the addition of a new chapter to the Federal criminal code to encompass the various types of credit card fraud and the amendment of the Truth-in-Lending and Electronic Funds Transfer statutes to close certain legal 'loopholes' that have prevented effective enforcement action against some types of credit card fraud. Drafts of various legislative proposals are included. For individual documents, see NCJ 92876-77.