Q:

Hostel scanned my credit card

I just arrived in New York and the woman at the reception scanned my passport (ok, happens everywhere) AND my credit card!
The thing about my credit card: it has the credit card number and the CCV on the same side.
Is that legally even allowed? I've been traveling the world for 9 month and no hostel ever scanned my credit card.
She said they need it as a deposit (otherwise 50$) and will delete it after I check out. Just sounds like some blabla. It feels very unsafe to me.

A:

The thing about my credit card: it has the credit card number and the CCV on the same side.
Is that legally even allowed?

Storing the CVV field after authorization (in any format, encrypted or not) is not permitted under The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

Sensitive authentication data must never be stored after authorization – even if this data is encrypted.
[...]
• Never store the card-validation code or value (three- or four-digit number printed on the front or back of a payment card used to validate card-not-present transactions).

See this fact sheet.
Additionally, scanning the card seems to me to raise other concerns about the physical security of the computers on which the images are stored, and the technical security in effect on that computer, and the vetting and training of staff who are authorized to access the computer; but it is perhaps possible the merchant is complaint with the PCI-DSS in this respect.
A merchant who violates the PCI-DSS may be fined by the acquirer or lose their access to the card network, depending on their merchant agreement.
In some places and in some US states, compliance with the PCI-DSS is legally required. But I do not think it is required in New York. Other local law may impose similar provisions to the PCI-DSS though.

In your shoes, I would complain to my credit card issuer, on the basis that the issuer is doing business with an unreputable merchant and I was disappointed that the high reputation of the card network has been tarnished by its association with this merchant.

