Scam guide
If Someone Told You to Pay Them With Gift Cards, It Is a Scam
No real agency, utility or company asks to be paid in gift cards. Here is how the scams work and what to do.
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Gift cards are popular with scammers because once a code is shared, the money is gone and is very hard to trace. The scam almost always follows the same pattern: urgency, fear or excitement, and then a demand to buy gift cards and read out or send the codes.
Common scripts
The government agency
Someone says they are from the IRS, Social Security, the police or immigration. You owe money or face arrest, and you must pay right now with gift cards. Real agencies never do this.
The utility company
A caller says your power, gas or water will be shut off today unless you pay with gift cards. Utilities send bills and take normal payments. They do not take gift cards over the phone.
Tech support
A pop-up or caller says your computer has a virus or your account was hacked. To fix it, you need to buy gift cards. Real tech companies do not charge in gift cards.
Romance and friendship
Someone you met online, often someone you have never met in person, has an emergency and asks for gift cards. This is one of the most common scams there is.
The prize or job
You won a prize, a sweepstakes or a job, but first you have to pay a fee in gift cards. A real prize or employer never asks you to pay to receive money.
Warning signs
- You are told to act right now, or something bad will happen.
- You are told to keep it secret from family, friends or the store clerk.
- You are asked to buy cards at several different stores.
- You are asked to read the code on the phone or send a photo of the back of the card.
- You are told to sell the card for crypto and send the crypto on.
What to do
- Stop. Hang up or stop replying. You do not owe the caller anything.
- Keep the card. Do not share the code or a photo of it with anyone.
- Contact the brand. Find the support number on the brand's official website, not in the message you got. If the code was already shared, ask them right away whether the funds can be frozen.
- Report it. Tell the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Reports help stop the same scam from reaching other people.
- Talk to someone you trust. Scammers rely on you feeling alone and rushed.
Our policy
We will refuse cards that were bought under pressure from someone else. If you bought a card because a caller, a stranger or someone online told you to, do not sell it to us to pay them. Selling the card to pay a scammer only moves the loss. Keep the card, contact the brand and report it.
Our service is for people who got a gift card they do not need, as a present or a refund, and want to turn it into crypto for themselves.
Selling a card that is truly yours?
If the card was a gift or a refund and nobody asked you to buy it, you can sell it in our bot.
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