Skimming

Skimming is the replication of account information encoded on the magnetic stripe of a valid payment card and its subsequent use for fraudulent transactions in which a valid authorization occurs. The account information is captured from a valid card and then re-encoded on a counterfeit card. The term "skimming" is also used to refer to any situation in which electronically transmitted or stored account data is replicated and then re-encoded on counterfeit cards or used in some other way for fraudulent transactions.