關於收入填報

申請信用卡時，必填項目之一就是你的全年總收入（Total gross annual income）。這可以包括你所有可能獲得的收入，例如全職、兼職、實習工資、投資分紅收入、社會福利收入，你也可以把別人轉帳給你，或代你支付帳單所提供的金額計算在內。收入亦是銀行決定是否批准你信用卡申請的重要條件，同時也是決定你信用卡額度的關鍵因素之一。

對留學生來說，如果你是自費修讀本科或碩士，又沒有在校內兼職，收入通常十分有限。所以在申請信用卡時會處於很大劣勢，甚至連部分免年費信用卡也很難批出。至於有一定收入的 PhD 學生，每月一兩千美元的收入亦未必足以支持你申請部分高階信用卡，例如 Chase Sapphire Reserve 通常需要你能獲批高達 $10,000 的額度，申請才有機會通過。假如你的年收入扣除房租後連 $3,000 都不到，銀行未必會批准一張額度 $10,000 的信用卡給你。同樣地，如果你在同一間銀行已經有 $3,000 的總額度，銀行亦可能不會再批新卡給你。

對於這個問題，現在不少玩卡人士都喜歡把自己的收入報高一點，一來較容易繼續獲批該銀行的新信用卡，二來額度高了之後，完成開卡消費要求也較方便。不用經常還款，完成任務後一次過還清即可。而銀行方面，一般情況下也不會要求你提交收入證明或去年的 tax return，通常會直接預設你填寫的是真實收入，進而決定是否批准你的申請，以及最終批出的額度。

但如果在申請信用卡時虛報收入，是否會產生問題，特別是法律問題呢？我們來分析一下。

虛報收入是違法的！

相關法律（18 U.S.C. § 1014）

814. FALSE STATEMENTS (18 U.S.C. § 1014)

Section 1014 of Title 18, United States Code, covers the knowing making of false statements or willfully overvaluing any property or security for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of the enumerated agencies and organizations.

Venue is governed by the general rule under the various false statement and false claim statutes. See United States v. Blecker, 657 F.2d 629, 632 (4th Cir. 1981) , cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1150 (1982) (false claim statute). A violation of section 1014 is indictable either in the district in which the false statement is prepared and mailed, or in which the statement is received. See United States v. Wuagneux, 683 F.2d 1343, 1356 (11th Cir. 1982) , cert. denied, 464 U.S. 814 (1983) .

Generally, the making of a number of false statements to a lending institution in a single document constitutes only one criminal violation under section 1014. See United States v. Sue, 586 F.2d 70, 71 (8th Cir. 1978) . See also United States v. Thibadeau, 671 F.2d 75, 79 (2d Cir. 1982) . However, in Bins v. United States, 331 F.2d 390 (5th Cir.) , cert. denied, 379 U.S. 880 (1964) , the court of appeals found duplicity in an indictment that charged the defendant in each count with making false statements on two different FHA forms. In United States v. Canas, 595 F.2d 73, 78 (5th Cir. 1979) , the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit distinguished Bins and found that an indictment can properly charge in a single count false statements made on different documents as long as the documents are necessary parts of a loan package meant to obtain a single loan.


簡單來說，就是在申請信用卡（可視為一種 loan）時，提供虛假資料（收入）。

案例一

Rochester Man Sentenced for Loan Application Fraud

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeNovember 19, 2012
Western District of New York (716) 843-5700

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that David P. Gaylord, 52, of Rochester, New York, who was convicted of bank loan application fraud, was sentenced to time served and five years’ supervised release and ordered to pay $46,914.73 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who handled the case, stated that in 2006, while residing in the Western District of New York, the defendant submitted various credit card applications to Advanta Corp., Bank of America, and Family First Federal Credit Union. Gaylord knowingly provided false information regarding his income in order to obtain lines of credit from the banks and credit union. The defendant indicated that his income was anywhere between $90,000 to $122,000 when, in 2006, he reported to the Internal Revenue Service that his income was approximately $12,488. Gaylord ended up leaving outstanding balances on the various lines of credit and filed for bankruptcy.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota.
This content has been reproduced from its original source.


Gaylord 故意就其收入提供虛假資料，以便從銀行及信用合作社獲得信貸額度。被告表示，他在 2006 年向美國國稅局申報的收入約為 $12,488，但在申請貸款及信用卡時，填報的收入卻介乎 $90,000 至 $122,000 之間。Gaylord 最終在多個信貸額度上留下未償還結欠，並申請破產。

這算是相當典型的一次過申請多張卡、不還錢，最後再申請破產的情況。

案例二

Loan Fraud Defendant’s Lies and False Documents Qualify Him for Five Years in Prison

Evidence at trial showed that Raymond told extraordinary falsehoods about his finances. For example, he claimed that his income ranged from $308,841 to $543,933; in fact, his true income was only a fraction of these amounts. To support his false claims he submitted fraudulent tax returns that appeared to have been filed with the IRS. At trial, the government proved that the file stamps on these tax returns were completely fabricated, and that the returns had never been submitted to the IRS.

Raymond also submitted forged bank and brokerage account statements to support his Bank of Escondido application, showing balances close to $400,000 in each account. In fact, the balances in these accounts were substantially lower, with one account even having less than $100.

DEFENDANTS

  • Solomon Gordon Raymond (a.k.a. Paul Anthony Raymond )
  • Age: 54
  • Golden Valley, Minnesota

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

  • Four counts of False Statement in a Loan and Credit Application, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014.
  • Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison, $1,000,000 fine, restitution, and $100 special assessment, per count.、

AGENCIES

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General
  • Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General
  • Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

同樣是在申請信用卡時撒謊，提供了比自己真實收入高很多的收入，甚至還偽造提交 IRS 的報稅表（TAX Return）

從案件總結，我們可以看出，這類案件會有 FBI 參與調查，並以 IRS 的報稅表作為真實收入的證據。

申請者角度

看了上面兩個案件，大家如果曾經虛報過的話，會不會吃不下飯了呢？真的這麼嚇人嗎？

其實從上面兩個案件來說，兩個人都是因為大量獲得了貸款，之後無法還清，直接破產，進而被發現有各種偽造收入資料的情況。假如你曾經虛報資料，但是並沒有造成甚麼嚴重的後果，或者說你每次都按時還款，自然不會有 FBI 介入調查你。僅僅是在申請信用卡時為了獲批，之後老老實實地使用，從實際上來說，和正常人的情況也沒甚麼兩樣。個人覺得，就算上法庭，陪審團也不會這麼輕易認定你有罪。當然，這裏不是鼓勵大家去虛報收入，因為無論有沒有產生嚴重後果，這本身就是違法行為。如果你就是為了獲得額度，然後擼完了就跑回國，或者申請破產，那麼早晚有一天會被調查起訴。

此外，銀行在你填報收入這件事上，其實留了一點餘地。比如 Chase 信用卡申請時，填報收入的欄位要求填寫你的收入或者預期收入，還包括各種不同類別，也包含你從家人獲得的資金。從技術上來說，如果你稍微提高一點自己的預期收入，進而能申請到這張卡，還算是可以理解吧。當然，如果填報的收入過高，我個人並不建議，過高的額度往往給了你「犯罪」的空間。。。

銀行、信用卡公司的角度

而從銀行的角度來看，銀行很少去核查你的真實收入。因為收入資料本身並不公開，也只有 IRS 會有比較準確的資料。所以在你填寫的時候，銀行通常都預設你填報的資料是真實的。有的銀行會要求你填寫額外資料，比如職業、僱主之類的資料，通過這些資料，也能大致判斷你的收入範圍是否可靠。銀行的目的是控制放貸風險（信用卡也是 personal loan 的一種），而不是為了調查你是否犯罪。所以，現在銀行都會調取你的信用報告，從你的個人信用資料就可以大致判斷你的風險範圍。比如你已經有其他銀行 $5,000 額度的信用卡，而且一直按時還款，那麼再批准你一張 $2,000 額度的信用卡，風險不會很大。反過來說，如果你的信用報告千瘡百孔，各種欠債不還，近期又有各種 Hardpull，銀行當然會判斷你風險過高，不會批給你新的信用卡。

銀行和你的關係也不是一錘子買賣，在你使用信用卡的過程中，銀行其實一直監控着你的風險。除了會定期 Soft Pull 你的信用報告、查看情況外，也會根據你的消費和收入來判斷你是否存在無法還款的風險。如果你風險過高，銀行也會認真調查你的收入。比如 AMEX Financial Review 就是非常嚴格的調查，需要你提交表格，允許 AMEX 去 IRS 調取你去年的收入，然後 AMEX 會根據你的收入情況，調整你的額度或者直接停卡。Chase 也有類似的 Review 行為，不過還沒上升到 IRS 階段。

此外，銀行也常常會要求你更新自己的收入資料，一方面可以根據你更高的收入給你更高的額度，促進你消費；另一方面則是為了避免你收入大幅下降後帶來的風險，及時下調你的額度。