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Legislators in the Australian state of New South Wales have approved laws designed to strengthen protections against credit card skimming, in which crooks use devices to capture information from card magnetic stripes to create counterfeit cards. Under the legislation, individuals found guilt of trafficking payment-card data face up to 10 years in jail. In addition, those convicted of possessing stolen card information with intent to commit a crime face up to seven years in prison, and individuals found guilty of possessing card skimmers face up to three years in jail. Previously, no penalties existed for the trafficking of card information, which hampered authorities' ability to combat such fraud, according to an official statement from the government. The state's attorney general's office and local police officials declined CardLine Global's requests for comment.
