House debates illegal scanning devices bill

The Iowa House is set to debate House File 2199 today. HF 2199 covers illegal scanning devices.

Under the current law, a person commits a class “D” felony if the person uses a scanning device to access, read, obtain, memorize, or store information on a payment card without the permission of the user of the payment card and with the intent to defraud the card user, card issuer, or merchant.

Laws also make it a class “D” felony to use a re-encoder to put encoded information on a payment card onto a different payment card without the permission of the authorized user of the card with the intent to defraud the authorized user, the card issuer, or a merchant.

HF 2199 suggest expanding the crime of illegally using a scanning device or encoding machine.

It would make it a crime to have a scanning device with the intent to get information encoded on a payment card without the permission of the card issuer, user, or a merchant. The bill would make it a crime to have a scanning device while knowing a person other than the card user, issuer, or merchant intends to obtain information from the payment card without the user, issuer, or merchant’s permission.

To possess a scanning device would be considered an aggravated misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $6,275.

The bill would also expand the use of scanning devices to read a payment card. It would include directly and indirectly using a scanning device.

The bill would also expand criminal mischief in the third degree to include the destruction of real or personal property that has the ability to process a payment card.

Other points of the bill would be to expand the definition of the merchant to include a satellite terminal, like an ATM. They would also expand payment cards to include any access device like a code, card, or other mechanisms to initiate a transaction. Scanning devices are also expanded in the bill to include wireless devices, radio scanners, or electronic devices that use filed communication technology.