What are common scenarios where scammers use gift cards?

One common scenario is the tech support scam, where fraudsters impersonate companies like Microsoft or Amazon, claim the victim’s account has been compromised, and then demand payment through gift cards. In romance scams, fraudsters pose as romantic partners and persuade victims to send gift cards as part of fabricated emergencies or sob stories.

How can you protect yourself from gift card scams?

Trust your instincts and end any suspicious calls or chats immediately. Do not share gift card codes with anyone you don’t know personally. Watch for red flags such as requests for urgent payments, love bombing, or repeated requests for gift cards. Be aware that legitimate companies and agencies will never request payment through gift cards.

What should you do if you become a victim of a gift card scam?

If you suspect you have been scammed, gather evidence such as the gift card code, caller ID, scammer’s profile link, conversation screenshots, and the date and time of the incident. Report the scam to the gift card issuer, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (reportfraud.ftc.gov), and notify your local cybercrime authorities.

How can you help fight gift card scams?

The best way to combat scams is by spreading awareness. Share information about how scammers operate so others can recognize the tactics and avoid becoming victims. Public awareness reduces the effectiveness of scam techniques and helps protect vulnerable groups, such as seniors.

Beware of Gift Card Scams in Online Dating

Q: What is a gift card scam?

A gift card scam is when fraudsters trick victims into buying and sending them gift cards and redemption codes under false pretenses, such as pretending to be tech support or a legitimate business. They create urgency and panic to push the victim into paying with gift cards instead of money.

Q: Why do scammers ask for gift cards instead of cash?

Scammers prefer gift cards because they are anonymous, untraceable, and easy to redeem. Unlike bank transfers, which leave digital trails, gift card codes cannot be tracked once redeemed. Gift cards can be quickly bought in stores and used for purchases without fraud protection, making them attractive to scammers.

Older people are often the victims of gift card scams as they’re usually gullible and less techie.

We all know that the ultimate goal of romance scammers is to steal money from their victims. They use careful manipulation to pull off a successful scam. However, for the scammer, convincing their victim of their undying love is only half the battle. The rest is spent persuading the victim to send them money.

But how does that actually work?

Experienced scammers know that they can't just ask their victims to wire money into their bank. They know full well the risks involved in the process. As such, these scammers have come up with creative ways to get their hands on someone's money without the likelihood of being traced.

Enter gift card scams.

What is a gift card scam, and why do scammers want gift cards instead of cash?

Before we delve deeper into the illicit connection between the romance scam industry and gift card scams, we must first understand how these scams work.

What is a Gift Card Scam?

A gift card scam is a type of scam where scammers trick unsuspecting victims into sending them gift cards and redemption codes by pretending to be legitimate business operations. For example, they inform their victims that they either have an unusual transaction, someone hacked into their account, or money has been stolen from their savings.

They create a sense of urgency, leaving victims in a state of panic and giving them little to no time to doubt their intentions. They give false reassurance by telling them that they can get their stolen money back, and in return, they must pay for their services with gift cards.

Why Do Scammers Ask for Gift Cards and Not Cash?

Have you ever wondered how scammers get their money, and what type of money transfer scammers ask for or prefer? They prefer the use of gift cards over traditional bank-to-bank payments or wallet apps, simply for anonymity and the lack of transactional details.

Unlike traditional bank-to-bank payments, such as transferring money from one account to another or using a wire transfer, companies like Apple and Google cannot trace gift card redemptions.

Bank transfers leave digital footprints, such as transaction reports. Scammers don’t want to be traced by the authorities, so they avoid such methods of money transfer. On the other hand, gift cards are untraceable, can be used for online purchases, and don’t come with fraud protection services from the issuer.

What’s more, it’s easy for people to buy gift cards from their local supermarkets, like Target or Walmart, and it’s just as easy to redeem them. Once redeemed, there’s no way to trace back the code used—the code expires. Hence, scammers prefer the gift card method.

Common Gift Card Scam Scenario: Tech Support Scam

In the United States, scammers usually target the elderly because of their gullibility and lack of tech knowledge. According to the National Council on Aging, people aged 60 and above have lost a combined $3.4 billion to financial fraud in 2023 alone—a jarring but true scenario.

A scam-hunting YouTube channel named Scammer Payback has revealed that the majority of these scams come from various scam call-center hubs in India, disguising themselves as either tech support or sales back-end support from Amazon, Microsoft, or other known American banks.

These scammers try to sympathize with their victims by pretending to care about their situation. What they will do is inform them of their stolen funds, transfer the call to their “supervisor,” and give them instructions on how to avail their services.

The scams have ruined hundreds of thousands of Americans’ lives, leaving them with empty pension and retirement funds, which is why companies like Apple are warning users online about scammers using the Apple gift card scam.

Gift Cards in Romance Scams

While the methods of both tech-support and romance scams vary from each other, a common method they use to steal their victims’ money is through gift cards.

Tech-support scams utilize the “takeover” method via third-party software to control their victims’ personal computers. In romance scams, an online dating scammer will try to gain their victim’s trust via love bombing or manipulation through chat, making the victim feel a false sense of validation and/or affection.

To receive gift cards from their victims, they utilize human empathy as a means of persuasion, employing various tactics, including fake emergencies or sob stories. They desperately request that their victims send money via gift cards, providing a believable, though entirely fabricated, justification for this unusual method of fund transfer.

A man wearing a hoodie and a beanie while on his phone.

Why do scammers ask for gift cards instead of cash? That’s because it’s untraceable!

Protect Yourself from Gift Card Scams

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers lost $148 million in gift card scams in the first nine months of 2021. Nearly 40,000 consumers reported using gift cards as a mode of payment to scammers, who claimed they were from legitimate companies and agencies.

While there are different ways to avoid scams, one of the most effective ways is to never second-guess yourself if your gut tells you you’re talking to a scammer—shut down the chat or the call immediately. Don’t give them the chance to manipulate you further. The longer you interact with a scammer, the more likely you are to fall into their trap.

Not only should you trust your gut, but be aware of the red flags, such as love bombing, asking for gift cards, and sudden, often unexplained urgency.

However, some scammers are good at blending in and convincing people, and you might become a victim of their scheme. So what should you do if you encounter a gift card scam?

Disengage and Report to the Authorities

If you somehow find yourself in a situation where you’re required to pay through a gift card, you should raise your eyebrows and ring the alarm bells. You should remember that legitimate businesses conduct payments through online wallets or credit/debit cards.

Once you’ve realized it’s a scam, make sure to gather enough evidence so you can report them to the authorities and to the gift card issuer.

You will need the following for the report:

Gift Card Code
Caller ID and Number
Link to profile
Screenshot of conversation
Date and time of incident

Once you have this information, quickly inform the gift card issuer about the scam for a possible refund. You can also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through their website, reportfraud.ftc.gov, to inform them that you’re a victim of a scam. After filing a report with the FTC, file an incident report at your local cybercrime department.

Spread Awareness

We’ve seen how scammers can easily infiltrate people’s lives by pretending to be tech-support specialists and online daters looking for love. It’s scary to think how they can blend in among us. No one is safe from these scammers unless we do something about them. But what part can we play in fighting online fraud?

By spreading awareness.

Once people see and understand how these scammers work, their tactics become less effective. The best we can do to protect our loved ones and other people from gift card scams is by sharing what we know about them, and this blog aims to do exactly that. Combat ignorance with knowledge.

References

“FTC Data Show Major Increase in Gift Cards As Scam Payment Method.” 2021. Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/12/ftc-data-show-major-increase-gift-cards-scam-payment-method.

Johnston, Jessica. 2025. “The Top 5 Financial Scams Targeting Seniors.” National Council on Aging. https://www.ncoa.org/article/top-5-financial-scams-targeting-older-adults/.