A new law to protect consumers from potential gift card scams in New York is now in effect.
All businesses selling gift cards are now required to display a notice at or near where any gift card or gift certificate is displayed or sold to caution consumers about gift card fraud. Requesting gift cards as payment has become increasingly popular with scammers as funds are nearly impossible to trace. According to the Federal Trade Commission in 2022, nearly 65,000 consumers filed a complaint related to gift card scams, equating to a total loss of $228.3 million.
“Over the past several weeks, the Department of State has been working to get the message out to both businesses and consumers about this important new law that educates and protects consumers against gift card fraud,” said New York Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez. “We want businesses to comply with the law, and we want to help increase the public’s awareness of these increasingly popular scams, so we encourage any business that has not already done so to post a warning notice where gift cards or displayed or sold.”
The Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection has created and published model notices that gift card sellers can download and post to comply with this new law. Businesses are encouraged to access these downloadable signs and post them where they sell gift cards. These downloadable signs are available in three different sizes on the Division of Consumer Protection website.
