Florida is putting a stop to gift card scams with a new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday. The law, under SB 1198, will establish gift card fraud in Florida Statutes and make it a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines.
Sen. Nick DiCeglie (R-Indian Rocks Beach) sponsored the bill in the Senate. Reps. Sam Greco (R-St. Augustine) and Dan Daley (D-Coral Springs) filed an identical bill in the House.
Gift card fraud, described in the bill's analysis, includes "acquiring or retaining possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information without the consent of the cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller."
It also includes tampering with the gift card or its packaging, devising a plan to possess a gift card, or the gift card's redemption information from the cardholder, issuer, or seller fraudulently, as well as using a card or its information to get money, goods, or services. Gift cards are popular purchases by buyers during holidays and celebrations
Under the law, if the value of the stolen goods or services exceeds $750, the crime would become a third-degree felony punishable by five years in prison and $5,000 in fines. Law enforcement also has the right to aggregate the value of fraudulently obtained goods or services to decide the degree of the offense.
Specifically, a person would be assessed a first-degree felony if the property has an aggravated value of $50,000 or more, a second-degree felony for $20,000 to $50,000, and a third-degree felony for under $20,000.
A report included in the bill's analysis by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that one in four people lost money to fraud using a gift card. It added since 2018, people reported losing a total of approximately $245 million, with a median individual loss of $840 to gift card fraud schemes.
The law takes effect on Oct 1.
