State law targets high-tech data theft

AUGUSTA – A new law targets a form of high-technology theft that involves “skimming” personal financial data from credit, debit or charge cards.

It is attacked in a bill that was signed into law Thursday by Gov. John Baldacci.

The law aims to curtail criminals who engage in such activities to defraud consumers or businesses. It creates a new crime of misuse of a scanning device or encoder. Under the new law, offenders could spend up to a year in jail and pay $2,000 fines.

Electronic skimmers have not yet been recovered in the state. But police told the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee that skimming devices, which can be as small as pagers, have shown up in several New England states.

Will Lund, director of the Office of Consumer Credit Regulation, said it’s only a matter of time before skimming is discovered in Maine.

Maine merchants and banking industry officials supported the bill. Federal and state laws protect consumers from having to pay charges resulting from skimming, but straightening out such cases of identity theft often takes a lot of time and effort.