關於收入填報

信用卡申請中必填的一項就是你的年收入（Total gross annual income）。這可以包含所有你可能獲得的收入，例如全職、兼職、實習薪資、投資分紅收入、社會福利收入；你也可以把別人匯給你的錢，或幫你代付帳單所提供的金援算進去。收入是銀行決定是否核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，如果你是自費就讀的大學部或碩士，而且沒有在校內打工，收入通常相當有限。因此在申請信用卡時會處於明顯劣勢，甚至連一些免年費的卡都很難申請到。對於有一定收入的 PhD 學生來說，每月一兩千美元的收入，可能也不足以支撐你申請某些高階信用卡。例如 Chase Sapphire Reserve 通常需要核給你高達 $10,000 的額度，申請才可能獲得批准。假如你的年收入扣掉房租後，連 $3,000 都不到，銀行可能就不會核准一張額度 $10,000 的信用卡給你。同樣地，如果你在某家銀行已經有了 $3,000 的額度，銀行也可能不會再核准該行的新卡給你。

針對這個問題，現在不少玩卡人士都喜歡把自己的收入報高一點：一來比較容易繼續獲批該銀行的新信用卡，二來額度提高之後，完成開卡消費也會比較方便。不用一直還款，做完任務一次繳清就好。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，通常就是直接預設你填寫的收入是真實的，進而決定是否核准你的申請，以及最終給出的額度。

那麼，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，提供了虛假的資訊（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.


蓋洛德為了從銀行與信用合作社取得信貸額度，故意提供與自己收入有關的虛假資訊。被告在 2006 年向美國國稅局申報的收入約為 $12,488，卻在申請貸款與信用卡時，把收入填成 $90,000 至 $122,000 之間。最後，蓋洛德在各個信貸額度上留下未清償餘額，並申請破產。

這算是非常典型的申一波卡不還錢，最後再破產。

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說謊，填報遠高於自己真實收入的金額，甚至還偽造提交給 IRS 的報稅表（Tax Return）。

從這些案件的總結中，我們可以看出，這類案件可能會有 FBI 介入調查，也會以提交給 IRS 的報稅表作為真實收入的證據。

從申請者的角度

看完上面兩個案件後，如果大家曾經虛報過，會不會開始吃不下飯了呢？真的有這麼可怕嗎？

其實從上面兩個案件來看，兩人都是因為大量取得貸款，之後無法償還，直接破產，進而被發現曾偽造各種收入資訊。假如你曾經虛報資訊，但並沒有造成什麼嚴重後果，或者你每次都有按時還款，自然不太會有 FBI 介入來查你。若只是為了讓信用卡申請核准，之後也都老老實實使用，從實際情況來看，和一般人的狀況也沒有太大差別。我個人覺得，就算真的上了法庭，陪審團也未必會那麼輕易認定你有罪。

當然，這裡不是鼓勵大家去虛報收入，因為無論有沒有造成嚴重後果，這本身就是違法行為。如果你是為了拿到額度，刷完就跑回國，或是直接申請破產，那麼早晚有一天會被調查起訴。

此外，銀行在收入填報這件事上，其實也留了一點空間。比如申請 Chase 信用卡時，收入欄位要求填寫你的目前收入或預期收入，也包含各種類別，甚至包括你從家人那裡獲得的資金。從技術上來說，如果你只是稍微提高一點自己的預期收入，進而成功申請到這張卡，某種程度上還算可以理解吧。當然，如果填報的收入過高，我個人並不建議，因為過高的額度往往也給了你「犯罪」的空間……

從銀行、信用卡公司的角度

從銀行的角度來看，銀行其實很少去查核你的真實收入。因為收入資訊本來就不是公開資料，也只有 IRS 掌握相對準確的資訊。所以在你填寫資料時，銀行通常都先假設你填的資訊是真實的。有些銀行會要求你提供額外資訊，例如職業、雇主等，透過這些資訊，也能大致判斷你的收入區間是否合理。

銀行的目的是控制放貸風險（信用卡也是 personal loan 的一種），而不是主動調查你是否犯罪。所以現在銀行都會調閱你的信用報告，從你的信用資訊大致判斷風險範圍。比如你已經持有其他銀行額度 $5,000 的信用卡，而且一直按時還款，那麼再核准你一張額度 $2,000 的信用卡，風險通常不會太高。反過來說，如果你的信用報告千瘡百孔，到處欠債不還，近期又有各種 Hard Pull，銀行當然會判定你風險過高，不會再核發新的信用卡給你。

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，銀行其實一直都在監控你的風險。除了會定期 Soft Pull 你的信用報告、查看狀況之外，也會根據你的消費與收入來判斷你是否有無法還款的風險。如果你的風險過高，銀行也會認真調查你的收入。比如 AMEX Financial Review 就是相當嚴格的調查，需要你提交表格，授權 AMEX 向 IRS 調取你去年的收入資料，之後 AMEX 會根據你的收入情況調整額度，或直接停卡。Chase 也有類似的 Review 機制，不過還不到 IRS 介入的程度。

此外，銀行也常常會要求你更新自己的收入資訊。一方面，可以根據你更高的收入提高額度，進而促進消費；另一方面，則是為了避免你收入大幅下降後帶來的風險，能及時調降你的額度。