Is This Email a Scam?

Usually arrives as: a call, text, email or message

Anyone asking you to pay with gift cards

The story can be anything: a tax bill, a computer repair, a relative in jail, a prize. If it ends with "go buy gift cards and read me the numbers," it's one pattern. Here's how it works and what to do right away if you already paid.

Last checked against the sources below on October 29, 2026.

An example we wrote from the official descriptions. It isn't a real message; its names, links and amounts are made up.

Phone call
From: a caller you don't know
"This is the billing department1. To cancel the charge, you'll need to buy three $500 Google Play cards2 at any store near you. Stay on the line while you buy them3. When you have them, scratch off the back and read me the numbers4. If the cashier asks, just say they're gifts.5"
  1. 1Any story at all. The FTC lists government agencies, tech support, family emergencies, prizes, utilities and romance.
  2. 2A specific card, a specific amount. The FTC says scammers tell you which card to buy and where.
  3. 3Staying on the phone keeps you from checking with anyone.
  4. 4The numbers are the money. Once someone has them, they can spend it.
  5. 5Secrecy at the checkout, so a cashier can't help.

The rule

The FTC's guide to gift card scams states it without exceptions:

"No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them."

Federal Trade Commission

Gift cards are for gifts. Anyone who tells you to buy one to pay a bill, a fine, a fee, a repair or a relative's bail is asking for money in a form that's very hard to trace and very hard to get back.

The stories that end in a gift card

The FTC lists some common ones:

  • Government impostors saying they're from the IRS, Social Security or the FTC. See government impersonation.
  • Tech support callers saying something is wrong with your computer. See tech-support pop-ups.
  • A family member in trouble who needs money fast and asks you to keep it quiet. See family emergency calls.
  • A prize you've won, with fees to pay first.
  • The utility company threatening to shut off your service today.
  • Someone you've met online who needs help. See romance scams.
  • A check for too much, with the difference to send back on gift cards.

How the request works

The FTC describes the steps. The caller tells you which card to buy and at which store, sometimes several stores. They may stay on the phone while you buy and load the cards. Then they ask for the card number and PIN from the back, or a photo of the card. Its October 2024 alert "Only scammers tell you to buy a gift card to pay them" explains why scammers want gift cards: "Once you add money to the card and give scammers the gift card number, your money is gone." It adds that some card companies "might give your money back," so report it right away (see below). Its advice for a call like this: hang up.

The FTC's general guide to avoiding scams adds that a caller "might tell you not to hang up so you can't check out their story." If anyone has told you to stay on the line, or what to say, or not to say, to a cashier or a bank teller, that alone is reason to stop and talk to someone.

If you already gave someone gift card numbers

Act right away, whatever time of day it is. From the FTC:

  1. Contact the company that issued the card right away, and tell them a scammer got the card number and PIN. Ask for your money back; the FTC says some companies may help. The FTC's gift card guide lists how to reach many card companies, including Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Target, Walmart, Visa, Vanilla and Steam. You can also find contact details on the back of the card. The FTC says to report it to the card company no matter how long ago the scam happened.
  2. Keep the card, and the receipt if you have it. The FTC says you may need them to follow up on your claim.
  3. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Helping someone else

If a friend or parent mentions they're buying gift cards to pay for something, it's a kind thing to ask what it's for. The FTC's general advice to talk to someone you trust works best when the people around us are easy to talk to. Asking isn't an accusation; scammers are good at what they do, and a second pair of ears is often what breaks the spell of a phone call.

Check something now

Paste a link or a sender's address into the link checker. If this page doesn't quite fit what happened, describe it or paste the message into our guide search to find the guide that may. Both run on your device and never send what you type anywhere; each of those pages says what other code runs on it. If you already responded, see what to do if you clicked, paid or gave information.

Related patterns

Sources

We opened each of these between October 25, 2026 and October 29, 2026 and checked that it says what we say it does. The highlighted part of each address is its registered domain: the same thing our link checker shows you.

  1. Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams. Federal Trade Commission, July 2023.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/avoiding-and-reporting-gift-card-scams
  2. Only scammers tell you to buy a gift card to pay them. Federal Trade Commission (consumer alert), October 4, 2024.consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/10/only-scammers-tell-you-buy-gift-ca…
  3. How To Avoid a Scam. Federal Trade Commission, July 2023.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam
  4. What To Do if You Were Scammed. Federal Trade Commission, June 2026.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed
  5. ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Federal Trade Commission.reportfraud.ftc.gov

Printed from https://isthisemailascam.com/scams/gift-card-requests/