AARP Hearing Center
Take care when buying or using gift cards: Scammers love them, too. It gives them numerous, virtually untraceable ways to steal.
The money you put on gift cards is like cash — once it’s spent, you almost certainly can’t get it back. Scammers have developed two distinct ways to exploit that fact: gift card payment scams and outright gift card theft.
Gift card payment scams
Gift cards are the most common way scammers seek payment from their targets, according to Federal Trade Commission. Con artists use Target, Walmart, iTunes and other popular gift cards as cash conduits in impostor and phone scams. The nearly 65,000 consumers who filed complaints with the FTC about gift card payment scams in 2022 lost a total of $228.3 million.
And this likely reflects only a fraction of the harm these scams cause, because, the FTC has noted, “the vast majority of frauds are not reported to the government.”
Contacting you in the guise of someone else — often a representative of a government agency, such as the IRS or Social Security Administration or a well-known company like Amazon or Apple — scammers claim you owe a debt or need a service. They insist you buy gift cards and read them the serial and personal identification number (PIN) on the back to make quick payment.
Don’t believe it. Genuine businesses and government bodies never ask for payment via gift card. Any such request is a sure sign of fraud.
The same holds true if you get an urgent call from a grandchild in distress, or if someone you’ve gotten close to online suddenly seeks a loan. A request for money via gift card means you’re dealing with a crook, not a loved one.
More on money
Scams and Fraud Protection Tips
Helping the consumer avoid identity theft, dating scams, tax fraud and more
If You Donate to Relief Efforts for Ukrainians, Give Wisely
10 tips to vet charities and avoid scams