SB 874 expands Maryland’s criminal law to specifically address gift card-related theft, fraud, and trafficking. The bill defines “gift card,” “intended gift card recipient,” and “original gift card purchaser,” and then creates new offenses for taking a gift card without consent, receiving a stolen or misdelivered gift card with intent to use or resell it, selling or buying gift cards outside authorized channels, and possessing or transferring falsely made or falsely embossed gift cards. It also prohibits anyone other than the intended recipient from signing a gift card with intent to defraud.
The bill places these offenses in Subtitle 2 of Title 8 of the Criminal Law Article, alongside existing credit card crimes, and expressly excludes gift cards from the definition of credit card. It adds new sections 8-204.1 and 8-205.1 and sets misdemeanor penalties that vary by the value involved: lower penalties for cards with balances under $100 and higher penalties for cards with balances of $100 or more, including increased jail exposure for repeat offenses. The act takes effect October 1, 2025.
Impact
SB 874 would amend Maryland’s Criminal Law Article by carving gift cards out of the existing credit card framework and creating a separate statutory scheme for gift card offenses. It would expand criminal liability to cover theft, possession, resale, forgery, and fraudulent signing of gift cards, and it would establish value-based misdemeanor penalties tied to the stored or accessible balance on the card. The bill would affect consumers, retailers, issuers, and anyone involved in secondary-market gift card transactions by making unauthorized or fraudulent conduct explicitly punishable under state law.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears to be preventative and enforcement-oriented rather than controversial on its face. The bill is framed as a consumer-protection and anti-fraud measure aimed at addressing a specific category of theft and counterfeit activity. No recorded opposition, amendments, or vote history is available here to indicate divided views.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are the scope of the new prohibitions and how broadly they reach ordinary gift card transactions. In particular, the ban on buying gift cards from anyone other than the issuer or an authorized seller could affect resale markets and informal transfers, while the criminalization of possession or receipt of certain cards may raise concerns about proof of intent and knowledge. Another possible issue is the bill’s use of criminal penalties for conduct involving relatively small dollar amounts, though the penalties are tiered by balance and repeat offense.