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SPONSOR: Sen. Townsend & Rep. Bush
Reps. Griffith, Lambert
DELAWARE STATE SENATE
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SENATE BILL NO. 280
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THEFT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
1 Section 1. Amend Chapter 5, Part I, Title 11, of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underline as
2 follows:
3 §841E. Crimes related to gift cards.
4 (a) For purposes of this section:
5 (1) “Cardholder” means any person or party to whom a physical or virtual gift card is issued through a
6 purchase or receives a gift card from a willing party.
7 (2) “Card issuer” means any person that issues a gift card or the agent of that person with respect to that
8 card.
9 (3) “Closed-Loop Gift Card” means a card, code, or device that is issued to a consumer on a prepaid basis
10 primarily for personal, family, or household purposes in a specified amount, regardless of whether that amount
11 may be increased or reloaded in exchange for payment; and is redeemable upon presentation by a consumer at a
12 single merchant or group of affiliated merchants.
13 (4) “Gift Card” means a physical or digital “closed-loop gift card” or “open-loop gift card” that is either
14 activated or inactivated.
15 (5) “Gift Card Redemption Information” means information unique to each gift card which allows the
16 cardholder to access, transfer, or spend the funds on that gift card.
17 (6) “Gift Card Seller” means a merchant that is engaged in the business of selling open-loop or closed-
18 loop gift cards to consumers.
19 (7) “Open-Loop Gift Card” means a card, code, or device that is issued to a consumer on a prepaid basis
20 primarily for personal, family, or household purposes in a specified amount, regardless of whether that amount
21 may be increased or reloaded in exchange for payment; and is redeemable upon presentation at multiple
22 unaffiliated merchants for goods or services within the payment card network.
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23 (8) “Value” means the greatest amount of economic loss the owner of the property might reasonably
24 suffer including, in the case of a gift card, the full monetary face value or potential value for variable load gift
25 cards.
26 (b) Any person who, with intent to defraud, does any of the following is guilty of gift card theft:
27 (1) Acquires or retains possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information without the consent
28 of the cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller.
29 (2) Alters or tampers with a gift card or the packaging in which it is offered for sale.
30 (3) Devises a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift card redemption information from a card holder, card
31 issuer, or gift card seller by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises.
32 (4) Uses, for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else of value, a gift card or gift
33 card redemption information that has been obtained in violation of paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section or as a
34 result of a scheme described in paragraph (b)(3) of this section.
35 (c) Gift card theft is punishable under § 841(c) and § 841(d) of this title.
SYNOPSIS
Scams and fraud related to gift cards are rapidly becoming a major issue in the United States. The Federal Trade
Commission reported more than 41,000 gift card fraud reports or $212 million in losses in 2024 with the final numbers for
2025 expected to be similar. With advancements in technology, these scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and
consequential for consumers.
This Act sets forth the definitions and elements of crimes related to gift card theft. It establishes that a person is
guilty of gift card theft if one of the following criteria is true (with the intent to defraud):
1. 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.
2. Alters or tampers with a gift card or the packaging in which it is offered for sale.
3. Devises a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift card redemption information that has been obtained in violation of
paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section or as a result of a scheme described in paragraph (b)(3) of this section.
4. Uses, for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else of value, a gift card or gift card
redemption information that has been obtained in violation of paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section or as a result of a
scheme described in paragraph (b)(3) of this section.
Lastly, this Act establishes that gift card theft is punishable under § 841(c) and § 841(d) of Title 11.
Author: Senator Townsend
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