18.2-196.1 - Unlawful use of payment card scanning devices and re-encoders; penalty. - Virginia Statutes

§ 18.2-196.1. Unlawful use of payment card scanning devices and re-encoders;penalty.

A. Any person who with malicious intent uses a scanning device or are-encoder on the payment card of another without the permission of theauthorized payment card user is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. Any person who violates this section and sells or distributes suchinformation to another is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

C. Any person who violates this section and uses such information in thecommission of another crime is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

D. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Authorized payment card user" means any person with the authorizationor permission to use any payment card to obtain, purchase, or receive goods,services, money, or anything else of value from a merchant.

2. "Merchant" means an owner or operator of any mercantile establishment orany agent, employee, lessee, consignee, officer, director, franchisee, orindependent contractor of such owner or operator who receives from anauthorized payment card user or someone he believes to be an authorizedpayment card user, a payment card or information from a payment card, or whathe believes to be a payment card or information from a payment card, as theinstrument for obtaining, purchasing or receiving goods, services, money, oranything else of value from him.

3. "Payment card" means a credit card, charge card, debit card, hotel keycard, stored-value card, white plastic, or any other card containing encodedinformation that allows an authorized payment card user to obtain, purchase,or receive goods, services, money, or anything else of value from a merchant.

4. "Re-encoder" means an electronic device that transfers encodedinformation from the magnetic strip or stripe of a payment card onto themagnetic strip or stripe of a different payment card.

5. "Scanning device" means a scanner, reader, or any other electronicdevice that is used to access, read, scan, obtain, memorize, temporarilystore, or permanently store encoded information on the magnetic strip orstripe of a payment card.

(2005, c. 166.)