Verrelli, Reynolds-Jackson & Murphy “Stop the Fraud” Bill to Combat Gift-Card Scams Targeting Seniors Passes Assembly

(TRENTON) – Cracking down on scammers who are coercing New Jersey residents by phone – predominantly senior citizens – into making large purchases in the form of refillable gift cards, Assembly Democrats Anthony S. Verrelli, Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Carol Murphy sponsored legislation to put a stop to the victimization of vulnerable New Jerseyans. The bill cleared the full Assembly on Monday, 70-3-4.

The impetus for the bill was an incident that occurred in May of this year in Assemblyman Verrelli’s district.  A CVS employee recognized the warning signs of an over- the-phone fraud case and stopped an elderly woman from sending thousands of dollars in prepaid gift cards to the scammers. The employee became suspicious and inquired why, and then notified their manager and the police.

“These types of schemes usually target teens, young adults, and the elderly.” Verrelli (D-Mercer, Hunterdon) said the scams either require residents to read the activation code on the back of the gift cards over the phone or send pictures of this code to the scammers. “It makes it harder for law enforcement to track their location when the scam is ultimately reported to the police. The bill will help combat these online and over-the-phone schemes at the point of purchase.”

The legislation (A-5346) would mandate additional training for retail employees across New Jersey in identifying customers who have fallen victim to instances of over-the-phone gift-card fraud.

“We are aiming to do everything in our power to protect our senior citizens,” said Reynolds-Jackson (D-Mercer, Hunterdon). “By equipping sales employees with the necessary tools to help stop fraud when they see it, we help our seniors who are being targeted.”

“Senior citizens are the most vulnerable to acts of fraud,” said Murphy (D-Burlington). “If a retail employee sees an elderly person purchasing many debit cards with multiple amounts on them, it doesn’t hurt to ask the person if everything is okay. The more who know about the scams that those preying on our seniors are trying to get away with, the better we will be at stopping these crimes before they go too far.”