What is Skimming and How Does It Result in Federal Criminal Charges?
What is skimming, and how can it result in federal criminal charges? According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), skimming is an act that happens “when devices illegally installed on or inside ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, or fuel pumps capture card data and record cardholders’ PIN entries.” After the skimming occurs, the party or parties who installed the skimming device can then “use the data to create fake payment cards and then make unauthorized purchases or steal from victims’ accounts.”
Often, when a person experiences identity theft as a result of swiping their credit card at a fuel pump or after using an ATM to obtain cash from an account, the identity theft involves a skimming device. The FBI reports that skimming results in more than $1 billion in losses to both consumers and financial institutions every year, making it an issue that the government takes very seriously. When a person is accused of skimming, what type of charges do they typically face? Our federal criminal defense attorneys in Tampa can explain, and we can begin working with you on your defense today if you have been accused of skimming.
Charges Under 18 USC 1029 for Skimming: Fraud and Related Activity in Connection with Access Devices
While skimming can give rise to charges under different types of federal statutes depending on the specific details of the offense, it almost always will result at least in charges under 18 USC 1029, which is the federal criminal statute for “fraud and related activity in connection with access devices.”
Under this statute, all cited below, a person can face charges for any of the following, which involve possession or use of skimming devices or materials to make them, as well as making transactions related to the information obtained through skimming devices:
- knowingly and with intent to defraud produces, uses, or traffics in one or more counterfeit access devices;
- knowingly and with intent to defraud traffics in or uses one or more unauthorized access devices during any one-year period, and by such conduct obtains anything of value aggregating $1,000 or more during that period;
- knowingly and with intent to defraud possesses fifteen or more devices which are counterfeit or unauthorized access devices;
- knowingly, and with intent to defraud, produces, traffics in, has control or custody of, or possesses device-making equipment;
- knowingly and with intent to defraud uses, produces, traffics in, has control or custody of, or possesses a telecommunications instrument that has been modified or altered to obtain unauthorized use of telecommunications services;
- knowingly and with intent to defraud uses, produces, traffics in, has control or custody of, or possesses a scanning receiver or hardware or software used for altering or modifying telecommunications instruments to obtain unauthorized access to telecommunications services;
- knowingly and with intent to defraud effects transactions, with 1 or more access devices issued to another person or persons, to receive payment or any other thing of value during any 1-year period the aggregate value of which is equal to or greater than $1,000;
- without the authorization of the issuer of the access device, knowingly and with intent to defraud solicits a person for the purpose of offering an access device or selling information regarding or an application to obtain an access device; or
- without the authorization of the credit card system member or its agent, knowingly and with intent to defraud causes or arranges for another person to present to the member or its agent, for payment, 1 or more evidences or records of transactions made by an access device.
Contact Our Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyers for Help Defending Against Any Charges Involving Allegations of Skimming
Are you facing charges under federal law related to fraud and false statements as a result of allegations of skimming? If you are convicted, you could be facing a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years in addition to a very significant financial penalty. You do not want to be convicted of a federal fraud offense. You should get in touch with one of the experienced Tampa federal criminal defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Daniel J. Fernandez, P.A. today to discuss the details of the government’s case against you and to begin developing a defense strategy that will give you the best chance of avoiding a conviction. Contact our firm today to learn more about relevant defense strategies and how we can assist you with your case.
Source:
fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/skimming
