LANSING –  Gov. Snyder has signed a package of bills intended to safeguard Michiganders from devices used to steal their personal information and use it to commit fraud. The bills are included among 14 other pieces of legislation intended to help protect Michiganders and their property in a variety of ways.

The five-bill package creates criminal penalties relating to the use of a “skimmer” device used to access a person’s financial information. The devices are illegally attached to automatic teller machines and record a person entering a PIN and read the information on the ATM or the debit or credit card’s magnetic strip.

HB 4595, sponsored by then-Rep. Jim Ananich, D-Flint, would make it a felony for a scrap metal dealer to purchase scrap metal or an item of personal property if the dealer knows that it was stolen.  It also would be a felony for a person to sell such metal items to a dealer knowing that the materials were stolen. The bill requires the approval of HB 4593 before taking effect. That bill has not yet been passed, but is a priority for next year. It is now Public Act 217 of 2013.