Delaware House Passes AI Fraud Bills Targeting Family Impersonation and Chatbot Transparency

TL;DR: Delaware’s House passed two AI‑focused bills that establish a distinct felony for impersonating family members using AI and mandate clear disclosure when consumers interact with chatbots or avatars.

Lawmakers pointed to a rapid rise in AI‑driven fraud, noting that scammers now use deepfake audio or video lifted from social media to pose as relatives and request urgent funds. The legislation, House Bills 326 and 306, seeks to update theft and consumer‑protection statutes that were written before such technology existed.

In 2025, over 22,000 AI‑related fraud incidents were reported nationwide, resulting in nearly $893 million in losses. Rep. Eric Morrison described impersonating a family member as especially manipulative because people naturally want to help loved ones in need, which raises the scheme’s success rate. Under HB 326, theft by pretending to be an immediate family member becomes a separate offense punishable as a class B, C, E or F felony, with the tier based on the amount taken.

House Amendment 1 to HB 326 removes the fixed conviction penalty and sentencing requirements, leaving the exact punishment to judicial discretion. Rep. Cyndie Romer argued that businesses already require users to prove they are human—through CAPTCHAs or similar checks—but do not reveal when the other side is a bot. HB 306 therefore obliges firms to disclose whenever a chatbot, avatar or AI agent is used in a consumer interaction where a reasonable person would assume they are speaking with a person.

If a business fails to make that disclosure clearly and conspicuously, the consumer can initiate a private right of action to seek damages. The new felony classification gives prosecutors a stronger tool to pursue AI‑enabled family‑impersonation theft, potentially increasing deterrence. Both bills now advance to the Senate, where further amendments could adjust penalty ranges, disclosure standards, or definitions of AI and chatbot.

What to watch next: The Senate’s vote on HB 326 and HB 306 will decide whether Delaware becomes one of the first states to criminalize AI‑family impersonation and mandate chatbot transparency.