If They Ask for Gift Cards, It's a Scam. Every Time.

You may not be able to tell a real story from a fake one. But you can always look at how they want to be paid — and that tells you everything.

The rule

The other payment methods that mean the same thing

• Wire transfers (Western Union, MoneyGram, or a bank wire)
• Payment apps — Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, PayPal to someone you don't know
• Cryptocurrency, especially if you're sent to a Bitcoin machine at a gas station or grocery store
• Cash by mail or courier — someone coming to your door to collect an envelope
• Gold or silver bars bought at their direction and handed to a courier

Every one of these is chosen for the same reason: once it's gone, it is extremely hard to get back.

Why gift cards in particular

A gift card is cash that can be spent by anyone holding the numbers. The scammer doesn't even need the card. They ask you to scratch off the back and read the numbers aloud, and the money is drained within minutes, often before you've hung up.

That's also why they'll ask you to stay on the phone in the store, and why they'll tell you what to say if an employee asks. Store clerks have stopped thousands of these. The scammer knows it.

How real organizations collect money

By mail, with a paper bill. Through your account online. By check. By credit card, on a line you called. Slowly, with documentation, and with a way to dispute it.

If you've already bought the cards

Act right now, because sometimes the balance is still there.

• Call the card company immediately. Apple, Target, Google Play, Amazon, whoever issued it. Tell them it was used in a scam.
• Keep the cards and the receipts. You'll need both.
• Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Tell someone you trust.