Colorado § 18-5-901 - Definitions.

§ 18-5-901. Definitions.

As used in this part 9, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Account holder" means any person or business entity named on or associated with the account or named on the face of a financial device to whom or for whose benefit the financial device is issued by an issuer.

(2) "Extension of credit" means any loan or agreement, express or implied, whereby the repayment or satisfaction of any debt or claim, whether acknowledged or disputed, valid or invalid, and however arising, may or will be deferred.

(3) To "falsely alter" a written instrument or financial device means to change a written instrument or financial device without the authority of anyone entitled to grant such authority, whether it be in complete or incomplete form, by means of erasure, obliteration, deletion, insertion of new matter, transposition of matter, or any other means, so that the written instrument or financial device in its thus altered form falsely appears or purports to be in all respects an authentic creation of or fully authorized by its ostensible maker.

(4) To "falsely complete" a written instrument or financial device means:

(a) To transform an incomplete written instrument or financial device into a complete one by adding, inserting, or changing matter without the authority of anyone entitled to grant that authority, so that the complete written instrument or financial device falsely appears or purports to be in all respects an authentic creation of or fully authorized by its ostensible maker; or

(b) To transform an incomplete written instrument or financial device into a complete one by adding or inserting materially false information or adding or inserting a materially false statement. A materially false statement is a false assertion that affects the action, conduct, or decision of the person who receives or is intended to receive the asserted information in a manner that directly or indirectly benefits the person making the assertion.

(5) To "falsely make" a written instrument or financial device means to make or draw a written instrument or financial device, whether it be in complete or incomplete form, that purports to be an authentic creation of its ostensible maker, but that is not, either because the ostensible maker is fictitious or because, if real, the ostensible maker did not authorize the making or the drawing of the written instrument or financial device.

(6) "Financial device" means any instrument or device that can be used to obtain cash, credit, property, services, or any other thing of value or to make financial payments, including but not limited to:

(a) A credit card, banking card, debit card, electronic fund transfer card, or guaranteed check card;

(b) A check;

(c) A negotiable order of withdrawal;

(d) A share draft; or

(e) A money order.

(7) "Financial identifying information" means any of the following that can be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to obtain cash, credit, property, services, or any other thing of value or to make a financial payment:

(a) A personal identification number, credit card number, banking card number, checking account number, debit card number, electronic fund transfer card number, guaranteed check card number, or routing number; or

(b) A number representing a financial account or a number affecting the financial interest, standing, or obligation of or to the account holder.

(8) "Government" means:

(a) The United States and its departments, agencies, or subdivisions;

(b) A state, county, municipality, or other political unit and its departments, agencies, or subdivisions; and

(c) A corporation or other entity established by law to carry out governmental functions.

(9) "Issuer" means a person, a banking, financial, or business institution, or a corporation or other business entity that assigns financial rights by acquiring, distributing, controlling, or canceling an account or a financial device.

(10) "Number" includes, without limitation, any grouping or combination of letters, numbers, or symbols.

(11) "Of another" means that of a natural person, living or dead, or a business entity as defined in section 16-3-301.1 (11)(b), C.R.S.

(12) "Personal identification number" means a number assigned to an account holder by an issuer to permit authorized use of an account or financial device.

(13) "Personal identifying information" means information that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific individual, including but not limited to a name; a date of birth; a social security number; a password; a pass code; an official, government-issued driver's license or identification card number; a government passport number; biometric data; or an employer, student, or military identification number.

(14) "Utter" means to transfer, pass, or deliver, or to attempt or cause to be transferred, passed, or delivered, to another person a written instrument or financial device, article, or thing.

(15) "Written instrument" means a paper, document, or other instrument containing written or printed matter or the equivalent thereof, used for purposes of reciting, embodying, conveying, or recording information, and any money, token, stamp, seal, badge, or trademark or any evidence or symbol of value, right, privilege, or identification, that is capable of being used to the advantage or disadvantage of another.

Source: L. 2006: Entire part added, p. 1319, § 8, effective July 1.

ANNOTATION

No evidence that defendant could have used gift card with no available funds "to obtain . . . any . . . thing of value" under subsection (6). Evidence insufficient, therefore, to support conviction for criminal possession of a financial device under § 18-5-903. People v. Reed, 2013 COA 113, 338 P.3d 364.

The inclusion of "debit card", without qualification, in subsection (6)(a)'s definition of "financial device", demonstrates, without more, that a debit card is a financial device for purposes of subsection (6). Neither subsection (6) generally nor subsection (6)(a) in particular says anything about a debit card being usable at the time of possession. People v. Hudson, 2025 CO 52, 576 P.3d 131.

Subsection (6) of this section and § 18-5-903 (1) do not require the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a debit card is capable of use at the time of possession to support a conviction for criminal possession of a financial device. Whether a debit card is expired, cancelled, or active, a debit cardholder's name, financial institution, and signature could be used to steal the cardholder's identity. The criminal possession of a debit card establishes the precursor to identity theft about which the legislature was concerned. People v. Hudson, 2025 CO 52, 576 P.3d 131.

The term "specific individual" in the definition of "personal identifying information" in subsection (13) means one identified human being. Defendant's conduct of using a nonprofit's name and tax-exempt document cannot constitute the use of personal identifying information because a nonprofit is not a human being. People v. Rodriguez-Morelos, 2022 COA 107M, 522 P.3d 213, aff'd, 2025 CO 2, 562 P.3d 71.