Testimony showed that of the 600 million credit cards circulating in the United States, 73 million end up lost or stolen each year. Although no firm figures exist, the entire loss of illegally used credit cards approached $1 billion in 1982. The Credit Card Protectin Act, the subject initially under discussion, would increase penalties for this crime. An anonymous witness, who was a credit card criminal who turned police informant after serving time explained how credit card fraud occurs. Other testimony focused on the wide availability of credit cards and how this contributes to the problem. The case of Credit Marketing Inc. (CMI) illustrates what can happen with easily distributed credit card numbers. A final hearing took the testimony of concerned business executives and law officials. Most of the testimony was in support of the proposed Credit Card Protection Act. Ten parties submitted additional material to the subcommittee, and letters from CMI are included as exhibits.