Laws and regulations · Scams and fraud
New Jersey gift card scam notice law: what S3587 requires
| Jurisdiction | New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Citation | S3587 (P.L.2025, c.39) |
| Status | The bill text is published on the New Jersey Legislature site and the measure is recorded as enacted law. |
| Official text | https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/S4000/3587_S1.HTM |
New Jersey S3587 requires a gift card scam notice at the point where gift cards are sold. The bill text places the notice at or near the physical location where the gift card is displayed for sale (New Jersey Legislature). The notice is a state-created warning to consumers, and the retailer’s duty is to display it where a buyer will see it before the sale.
Who it covers
The notice requirement reaches retailers that display gift cards for sale in New Jersey. That includes grocery, pharmacy, convenience, big box, and any other format with a gift card rack or a card display at the register. The bill text ties the placement to the physical location of the display, so an online-only seller is a different question and should be checked against the bill directly.
What it requires
A displayed notice. The operative phrase is at or near the physical location where the gift card is displayed for sale (New Jersey Legislature). “At or near” means the shopper standing at the rack can read it without hunting. A sign taped to the back of the register, or a line in a receipt footer, is not at or near the display.
A state-created notice. The content comes from the state, not from the retailer’s marketing department. The retailer’s job is placement and upkeep, not authorship. A store that has already made its own gift card scam sign should check that the state notice is also posted.
| Requirement | Who | When |
|---|---|---|
| Post the state gift card scam notice | Store manager | Before the display is open for sale, and whenever the rack moves |
| Place it at or near the physical location where gift cards are displayed | Store manager, checked on the district visit | On placement and on every reset |
| Keep it legible and unobstructed | Front end lead | Every shift walk |
| Replace it after a planogram change | Merchandising team | Same day as the reset |
What it does not require
The notice law does not require the cashier to do anything at the point of sale. It is a disclosure to the consumer. A notice alone does not stop a scam in progress, because a victim under a scammer’s instructions has been told to ignore warnings. The cashier is the second layer, and the store still needs a script and an escalation rule for the person at the register. That layer is the subject of gift card scam awareness training for cashiers. Nothing in either layer asks an associate to confront, follow, or accuse a shopper. Observe, pause the sale if store policy allows, and call the manager.
What a store should do this week
- Get the state notice and print it at a size a shopper can read from arm’s length.
- Walk every gift card display in the store, including endcaps and register wings, and post a notice at each.
- Photograph each posted notice and file the photos with the store’s compliance records.
- Add “notice present at gift card display” to the weekly store walk.
- Brief the front end on why the sign is there, using huddle talking points.
- Pair the notice with the cashier script so the sign and the person say the same thing.
How it fits the rest of the program
Signage is the cheapest layer of gift card scam prevention, and the state has now written the sign for New Jersey retailers. The layer that catches the scam in progress is the trained cashier. A store that treats the notice as the whole program will still process the sale. For the wider set of state laws and fraud patterns, see the scams and fraud topic hub, and for how to build a sign that people actually read, see safety awareness posters for the breakroom.