Washington statute
RCW 9.35.010 — Improperly obtaining financial information
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Chapter 9.35: Identity Crimes, Revised Code of Washington.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of RCW 9.35.010
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the official text of the Revised Code of Washington from the Code Reviser's published files; it is not the official statutes of the State of Washington.
(1) No person may obtain or attempt to obtain, or cause to be disclosed or attempt to cause to be disclosed to any person, financial information from a financial information repository, financial services provider, merchant, corporation, trust, partnership, or unincorporated association:
(a) By knowingly making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to an officer, employee, or agent of a financial information repository with the intent to deceive the officer, employee, or agent into relying on that statement or representation for purposes of releasing the financial information;
(b) By knowingly making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to a customer of a financial information repository, financial services provider, merchant, corporation, trust, partnership, or unincorporated association with the intent to deceive the customer into releasing financial information or authorizing the release of such information;
(c) By knowingly providing any document to an officer, employee, or agent of a financial information repository, financial services provider, merchant, corporation, trust, partnership, or unincorporated association, knowing that the document is forged, counterfeit, lost, or stolen; was fraudulently obtained; or contains a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, if the document is provided with the intent to deceive the officer, employee, or agent to release the financial information.
(2) No person may request another person to obtain financial information from a financial information repository, financial services provider, merchant, corporation, trust, partnership, or unincorporated association and knows or should have known that the person will obtain or attempt to obtain the information from the financial institution repository, financial services provider, merchant, corporation, trust, partnership, or unincorporated association in any manner described in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) No provision of this section shall be construed so as to prevent any action by a law enforcement agency, or any officer, employee, or agent of such agency, or any action of an agent of the financial information repository, financial services provider, merchant, corporation, trust, partnership, or unincorporated association when working in conjunction with a law enforcement agency.
(4) This section does not apply to:
(a) Efforts by the financial information repository to test security procedures or systems of the financial institution repository for maintaining the confidentiality of customer information;
(b) Investigation of alleged employee misconduct or negligence; or
(c) Efforts to recover financial or personal information of the financial institution obtained or received by another person in any manner described in subsection (1) or (2) of this section.
(5) Violation of this section is a class C felony.
(6) A person who violates this section is liable for five hundred dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorneys' fees.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is improperly obtaining financial information a felony or a misdemeanor in Washington?
Improperly obtaining financial information is a Class C Felony in Washington under RCW 9.35.010.
Which Washington statute covers improperly obtaining financial information?
Improperly obtaining financial information is governed by RCW 9.35.010 (Improperly obtaining financial information).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.