Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 2138 amends the Business & Commerce Code to establish that a person commits identity theft, designated as a Class B misdemeanor, by using a scanning device or a re-encoder to access, read, scan, store, or transfer information encoded on the magnetic strip of a credit card, debit card, or certain other type of payment card without the consent of an authorized user of the card and with the intent to harm or defraud another person. The bill adds scanning devices and re-encoders to the definition of "contraband"; any proceeds gained through the use of the devices or property acquired with those proceeds is also defined as contraband.