With the Christmas holiday over, retailers are now processing thousands of returns. People are returning unwanted appliances, too little sweaters, too big shoes and other items for various reasons. Items are being returned online and also, traditionally, by people standing in long lines at Walmart, Target, the mall and a whole host of other retailers. In those lines, however, are people who have the intent to commit refund fraud. Which, is considered a charge of theft in the state of Georgia.
Refund Fraud in Georgia
Under Georgia law, O.C.G.A. § 16-8-14.1, it shall be unlawful for a person to give a false or fictitious name or address or to give the name or address of another person without that person’s approval or permission for the purpose of obtaining a refund from a store or retail establishment for merchandise.
Further, it shall be unlawful for a person to obtain a refund in the form of cash, check, credit on a credit or debit card, a merchant gift card, or credit in any other form from a store or retail establishment using a driver’s license not issued to such person, a driver’s license containing false information, an identification card containing false information, an altered identification card, or an identification card not issued to such person.
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