Pennsylvania § 4121 Possession and use of unlawful devices

Pennsylvania Statutes

§ 4121 — Possession and use of unlawful devices

Pennsylvania § 4121

Title 18CRIMES AND OFFENSES

PartPART II

Ch. 41FORGERY AND FRAUDULENT PRACTICES

This text of Pennsylvania § 4121 (Possession and use of unlawful devices) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4121 (2026).

Text

(a)Offense defined.--A person commits an offense if:

(1)The person, with the intent to defraud another person:

(i)uses a device to access, read, obtain, memorize or store, temporarily or permanently, information encoded on the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a payment card or possesses a device capable of doing so; or

(ii)places information encoded on the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a payment card onto the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a different card or possesses a device capable of doing so.

(2)The person knowingly possesses, sells or delivers a device which is designed to read and store in the device's internal memory information encoded on a computer chip, m

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(a) Offense defined.--A person commits an offense if:

(1) The person, with the intent to defraud another person:

(i) uses a device to access, read, obtain, memorize or store, temporarily or permanently, information encoded on the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a payment card or possesses a device capable of doing so; or

(ii) places information encoded on the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a payment card onto the computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a different card or possesses a device capable of doing so.

(2) The person knowingly possesses, sells or delivers a device which is designed to read and store in the device's internal memory information encoded on a computer chip, magnetic strip or stripe or other storage mechanism of a payment card other than for the purpose of processing the information to facilitate a financial transaction.

(b) Grading.--

(1) A first offense under subsection (a) constitutes a felony of the third degree.

(2) A second or subsequent offense under subsection (a) constitutes a felony of the second degree.

(c) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Payment card."A credit card, a charge card, a debit card or another card which is issued to an authorized card user to purchase or obtain goods, services, money or another thing of value.