Section 269/7 — Unlawful use of another's card
English translation
Whoever unlawfully uses the electronic card of another person, in a manner likely to cause damage to another person or to the public, shall be liable to imprisonment from one year to five years, or a fine from twenty thousand baht to one hundred thousand baht, or both.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 269/7 addresses a different wrong from the forging offences of the Chapter: the unauthorised use of a genuine electronic card belonging to another. Its elements are: (1) using the electronic card of another person; (2) unlawfully, that is without right or authority; and (3) a manner likely to cause damage to another or the public. Unlike Sections 269/2 to 269/6, no forged card is required; the card is real but the user has no right to it, as where a lost, stolen, or misappropriated card is used to pay or withdraw. In practice each separate use, at a different time and for a different amount, can be treated as a distinct offence, and the conduct is frequently charged together with theft under Sections 334 and 335.
Why this matters in practice
This is the everyday offence for using a lost, stolen, or borrowed card without authority, and its practical bite is that repeated use multiplies liability: each transaction, at a different time and amount, can be a separate count. Exposure is one to five years, and where the card belongs to an employer or is taken with property, theft counts under Sections 334 and 335 are usually stacked on. Courts have suspended prison terms and imposed fines for first offenders who repay, but the multiple-count structure can raise total exposure quickly. A frequent defence is genuine authority or consent to use the card. For related material see fraud and scam laws in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 7946/2568 (2025)
Each unlawful use of a card to pay for goods and services, at a different time and for a different amount, is not a single continuous act but a separate offence, so seven uses constitute seven distinct counts.
The defendant used a card to pay for goods and services seven times in differing amounts at differing times. Charged under Sections 335, 265, 268, 269/5, 269/6, and 269/7, the conduct was held to be seven distinct offences rather than one act.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2555/2566 (2023)
Unlawful use of another's electronic card to withdraw funds, committed by an employee against an employer, supports conviction under Section 269/7 together with theft by an employee under Section 335(11), and a first offender who repays may receive a suspended prison term with a fine.
Charged under Sections 188, 269/5, 269/7, 334, and 335, the defendant confessed and was convicted under Sections 188, 269/5, 269/7, and 335(11) paragraph one for using an electronic card to withdraw funds and employer theft. The Supreme Court suspended the prison term and added a 20,000 baht fine, the minimum for the theft count.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
Is using someone else's ATM or credit card a crime?
Yes. Section 269/7 punishes unlawfully using another person's electronic card, such as a lost or stolen card, in a manner likely to cause damage, with imprisonment of one to five years, a fine, or both.
If I used a stolen card several times, is that one offence or many?
Courts have held that each separate use of another's card, at a different time and for a different amount, is a distinct offence, so several uses can be punished as several counts.