Washington's Senate Law and Justice Committee examined gift-card fraud and tampering at a September 15 work session, including cards compromised before shoppers purchase and activate them.

The official TVW session page confirms the date and gift-card agenda. Washington Retail Association described the industry's presentation in a September 17 account.

The association says it participated alongside Washington Organized Retail Crime Association, the Gift Card Fraud Prevention Alliance, The Home Depot and the state Attorney General's Office.

A compromise before activation

The retail association describes offenders recording numbers and redemption codes from display cards, resealing their packaging and returning them to sale. A later legitimate purchase loads value into an instrument whose credentials are already known to the offender.

The association argues that the timing creates an enforcement problem around unactivated cards and advocates legislation addressing that gap. This is its assessment and proposal, rather than a finding that every such act is lawful under existing statutes.

Its account refers to earlier companion bills in the 2025-26 legislative biennium and hopes for progress in 2027. The September work session did not enact a gift-card law.

The new development is lawmakers' scrutiny of the link between pre-sale tampering and later loss of loaded value. Any legislative response remains to be determined.