ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News has covered multiple instances of Georgians getting hit with gift card schemes and scams, including some where a bad actor impersonates a member of law enforcement, or pretends to fall in love, in order to get money from vulnerable seniors and other residents.
Now lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would add penalties for those trying to financially harm businesses and Georgia residents using gift cards.
According to House Bill 447, anyone who causes a cardholder or customer to suffer financial or economic losses, or card issuers to lose money, could face both prison time and thousands of dollars in fines.
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The bill comes after months of what law enforcement agencies have called gift card scams and related schemes.
For the purposes of the bill, a gift card means any physical or digital gift card, no matter if it’s activated or inactive.
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“Any person who, with intent to defraud, acquires or retains possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information without the consent of the cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller shall be guilty of gift card theft,” the bill says.
Additionally, the bill says that anyone who alters or tampers with a gift card or its packaging with the intention of defrauding someone will be considered guilty of gift card forgery.
For those who “devise a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift card redemption information from a cardholder, card issuer or gift card seller” through false pretenses will also be guilty of gift card fraud, the bill says.
Anyone convicted on these charges would face an initial misdemeanor charge if the amount of goods, services or other things paid for with the gift cards in question is less than $500.
For amounts $500 or more, violators would face between one and 10 years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.
If someone commits the crimes defined by the bill more than once in a six month period and each time over $500, they would also face a one to 10 year prison term and a fine up to $5,000.
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