In the legal sense, "copying" a credit card depends entirely on the intent and ownership. It is perfectly legal for a cardholder to photocopy or scan their own card for personal record-keeping, such as storing a digital copy in a secure "password vault" or providing a scan to a hotel for a pre-authorized deposit. However, "copying" in the sense of skimming or cloning—where data from the magnetic stripe or EMV chip is duplicated onto a different card to make unauthorized purchases—is a severe federal crime involving fraud and identity theft. In 2026, with the ubiquity of "Tokenization" and virtual card numbers (like those used in Apple Pay), the physical copying of a card has become less effective for criminals, but the legal penalties for possessing "scanning devices" with the intent to defraud have increased. Even "writing down" someone else's card details without their explicit consent can fall under criminal statutes related to "unauthorized access devices," which can lead to significant prison time and heavy fines.