Oooooklahoma! Where the Cops Can Stop and Empty Your Bank Cards – on Just a Hunch
8th June 2016
Police in Oklahoma are deploying an electronic scanner that can drain currency from prepaid credit cards seized at the roadside using civil asset forfeiture laws.
The Electronic Recovery and Access to Data (ERAD) handheld scanner was developed at the request of the Department of Homeland Security for use by US border guards. But the gadget’s maker is now marketing it to local and state police, and Oklahoma has bought 16 of the scanners for its highway patrol.
The reader can record data from any magstripe card – even down to hotel keys – and works with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as Best Buy, Costco, Macy’s and Walmart gift cards. Any funds found can be frozen or transferred directly to a law enforcement bank account “to protect the integrity of the evidence and ensure the funds are available for trial or forfeiture,” ERAD’s advertising states.
I do not enter Oklahoma until they get this fixed.