The one rule about gift cards

If someone asks you to buy gift cards and read them the numbers on the back, it is a scam. Every single time. No exceptions.

The rule

No legitimate business, government agency, utility company, or person will ever ask you to pay with gift cards.

Not the IRS. Not your bank. Not Microsoft or Apple support. Not your electric company. Not a judge or police officer. Not your boss over text.

How the scam usually works

1. Someone contacts you with urgency — taxes owed, a warrant, a virus, a family emergency, or a “work favor.”
2. They insist gift cards are the only acceptable payment.
3. They keep you on the phone while you buy cards at a store, or rush you online.
4. They collect the codes and the money is gone in minutes.

Share your experience in our community reports to warn others.