House Bill 1267

AN ACT TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF SKIMMING; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF THAT THEFT FROM THREE OR MORE MERCHANTS WITHIN A CERTAIN TIME PERIOD; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; TO PROHIBIT THE FRAUDULENT USE OF RECEIPTS OR UNIFORM PRODUCT CODE LABELS; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Sections 1, 2 and 3 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the Anti-Skimming Act.

SECTION 2. As used in Sections 1, 2 and 3 of this act, the terms:

(a) "Scanning Device" means a scanner, reader or any other electronic device that is used to access, read, scan, obtain, memorize or store, temporarily or permanently, information encoded on the magnetic strip or stripe of a payment card.

(b) "Re-encoder" means an electronic device that places encoded information from the magnetic strip or stripe of a payment card onto the magnetic strip or stripe of a different payment card.

(c) "Payment Card" means a credit card, charge card, debit card, hotel key card, stored value car, or any other card that is issued to an authorized card user and that allows the user to obtain, purchase, or receive goods, services, money or anything else of value from a merchant.

(d) "Merchant" means an owner or operator of any retail mercantile establishment or any agent, employee, lessee, consignee, officer, director, franchisee or independent contractor of such owner or operator. A "merchant" means a person who receives from an authorized user of a payment card, or someone the person believes to be an authorized user, a payment card or information from a payment card, or what the person believes to be a payment card or information from a payment card, as the instrument for obtaining, purchasing or receiving goods, services, money or anything else of value from the person.

(e) "Authorized card user" means any person with the empowerment, permission or competence to act in the usage of any "payment card" to include, but not limited to, a credit card, debit card, hotel key card, stored value card or any other card that allows the user to obtain, purchase, or receive goods, services, money, or anything else of value from a merchant.

SECTION 3. (1) It is a felony for a person to use:

(a) A scanning device to access, read, obtain, memorize, or store, temporarily or permanently, information encoded on the magnetic strip or stripe of a payment card without the permission of the authorized user of the payment card and with the intent to defraud the authorized user, the issuer of the authorized user's payment card or a merchant.

(b) A re-encoder to place to place information encoded on the magnetic strip or stripe of a payment card onto the magnetic strip or stripe of a different card without the permission of the authorized user of the card from which the information is being re-encoded and with the intent to defraud the authorized user, the issuer of the authorized user's payment card or a merchant.

(2) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished for a first offense by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both. For a second or subsequent conviction such offender shall be punished by a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years or both.

SECTION 4. (1) Theft is a felony when the goods, wares, or merchandise shoplifted are of the value of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or more, or when the goods, wares, or merchandise shoplifted are from three (3) separate mercantile establishments during a "criminal episode, regardless of the value of the goods.

(2) Theft committed from three (3) or more individual mercantile establishments over a period of time encompassing five (5) days.

SECTION 5. (1) A person who, with intent to cheat or defraud a retailer, possesses, uses, utters, transfers, makes, alters, counterfeits, or reproduces a retail sales receipt or a Universal Product Code Label, commits a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction be subject to a fine of up to One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment for up to one (1) year or both.

(2) A person who, with intent to cheat or defraud a retailer, possesses fifteen (15) or more fraudulent retail sales receipts, Universal Product Code Labels or possesses the device which purposes is to manufacture fraudulent retail sales receipts or Universal Product Code Labels, will be guilty of a felony and shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of up to Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or imprisonment for up to five (5) years or both.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.