Gift Card Fraud Offenses - Penalties
Summary
Virginia Governor signed HB662 into law, creating four new criminal offenses related to gift cards: gift card theft, gift card forgery, gift card fraud, and criminally receiving goods and services fraudulently obtained. The law takes effect July 1, 2026, and passed unanimously in both chambers (97-0 House, 37-0 Senate).
What changed
Virginia has enacted HB662, adding gift card theft, forgery, fraud, and criminal receipt of fraudulently obtained goods to existing credit card offense provisions. The bill establishes new criminal penalties for these offenses under Virginia law.\n\nRetailers and businesses selling or redeeming gift cards, as well as consumers, should be aware that Virginia now criminalizes unauthorized access to gift cards, creation of fraudulent gift cards, and use of gift cards to obtain goods or services through fraud. Businesses should review their gift card operations and implement safeguards consistent with the new statutory requirements.
What to do next
- Review gift card handling and sales practices for fraud exposure
- Update internal compliance policies to address new gift card offenses
- Train employees on recognizing and preventing gift card fraud schemes
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / Virginia / HB662 Signed by Governor HB662 House Bill Signed by Governor 2026-04-06
Offenses relating to gift cards; penalties.
Offenses relating to gift cards; penalties. Adds the offenses of gift card theft, gift card forgery, gift card fraud, and criminally receiving goods and services fraudulently obtained to the existing provisions of law related to credit cards. This bill is identical to SB 444.
Bill Details
State Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Regular Session
Chamber House
Official Source lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB662
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Sponsors
Michelle Maldonado (Rep - D) Jessica Anderson (Rep - D) Nadarius Clark (Rep - D) Rozia Henson (Rep - D) Sam Rasoul (Rep - D)
Action History
2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 196 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-03-10 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 2026-03-10 H Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 2026-03-05 H Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB662) 2026-03-04 S Signed by President 2026-03-04 H Signed by Speaker 2026-03-04 H Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB662ER) 2026-03-04 H Enrolled 2026-03-02 H Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (3/2/2026 9:11 am) 2026-02-27 S Passed Senate (37-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-27 S Read third time 2026-02-26 S Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) 2026-02-26 S Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-26 S Rules suspended 2026-02-25 S Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) 2026-02-23 S Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 0-N) 2026-02-18 S Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice 2026-02-18 S Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) 2026-02-17 H Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-16 H Engrossed by House - committee substitute 2026-02-16 H committee substitute agreed to 2026-02-16 H Read second time 2026-02-16 H Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB662) 2026-02-15 H Read first time 2026-02-13 H Committee substitute printed 26107594D-H1 2026-02-13 H Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (21-Y 0-N) 2026-02-11 H Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) 2026-02-11 H House subcommittee offered 2026-02-10 H Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal 2026-01-20 H Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB662) 2026-01-15 H Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB662) 2026-01-13 H Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice 2026-01-13 H Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (1/13/2026 4:15 pm) 2026-01-13 H Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102404D
Votes
2026-02-11 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) Yea: 10 Nay: 0 2026-02-13 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (21-Y 0-N) Yea: 21 Nay: 0 2026-02-17 Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 97 Nay: 0 2026-02-23 Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 0-N) Yea: 13 Nay: 0 2026-02-25 Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) Yea: 15 Nay: 0 2026-02-26 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 40 Nay: 0 2026-02-27 Passed Senate (37-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 37 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-01-13 H Courts of Justice 2026-02-10 H Courts of Justice: Criminal 2026-02-18 S Courts of Justice 2026-02-23 S Finance and Appropriations
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-13 Introduced 2026-02-11 Comm Sub 2026-02-11 Comm Sub 2026-02-13 Comm Sub 2026-03-04 Enrolled Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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