Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA c. 30 is enacted to read:

CHAPTER 30

PAYMENT CARD FRAUD

§721.__Short title

This chapter may be known and cited as "the Anti-skimming Act."

§722.__Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

1.__"Authorized card user" means a person with the empowerment or permission to act in the usage of a payment card.

2.__"Merchant" means an owner or operator of a retail mercantile establishment or an agent, employee, lessee, consignee, officer, director, franchisee or independent contractor of an owner or operator.__"Merchant" means a person who receives from an authorized card user, or someone the person believes to be an authorized card 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.

3.__"Payment card" means a credit card, charge card, debit card, hotel key card or store value card or any other card that is issued to an authorized card user that allows the user to obtain, purchase or receive goods, services, money or anything else of value from a merchant.

4.__"Reencoder" 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 another payment card.

5.__"Scanning device" means a scanner or reader or any other electronic device that is used to access, read, scan, obtain,