If a stranger asks you to pay using a Gift Card, I need your next thought to be SCAM! Program yourself to mistrust anyone asking you to go buy a gift card. Gift cards are just like cash and should only be used as gifts, with people you know, love and trust.

  • If someone on the phone says they’ll fix your computer and you can pay them using a Walmart Gift Card, s/he is a scammer.
  • If someone on Facebook asks you to buy them Google Play Gift Cards so you can participate in a Bitcoin-Generating investment operation, that is also a scam.
  • If the IRS contacts you regarding tax arrears, and says you can avoid jailtime by buying them several Amazon Gift Cards, the whole thing is one big lie and scam!

And so on. Gift cards are sought after by scammers because the funds on those are largely untraceable and unrecoverable. Those guys know that scammy credit card charges can be disputed and removed, fairly quickly. But if they can get the number from a gift card, they will instantly syphon off that money, with no chance of reversal.

So please: Let the mere mention of a gift card be a red flag to you that you have encountered a scam. Legitimate companies will never run you to the store to buy such things. If you encounter a gift card scam, disconnect the call or delete the messages and move on!