Data Spotlight | Scammers prefer gift cards, but not just any card will do 1 

December 2021 

Scammers prefer gift cards, but not just any card will do

Gift cards are an easy way to give. Reports to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel show they’re also an easy way to

take. About one in four people who report losing money to fraud say it happened when a scammer tricked them 

into giving the numbers on the back of a gift card.1 Gift cards are far more frequently reported than any other

payment method for fraud,

2 and the numbers have reached staggering new highs compared to past years.3

 In 

the first nine months of 2021 alone, nearly 40,000 people reported $148 million stolen using gift cards. And 

because the vast majority of frauds are not reported to the government, this reflects only a fraction of the harm 

these scams cause.

4

 

Scammers favor gift cards because they are easy for people to find 

and buy, and they have fewer protections for buyers compared to 

some other payment options. Scammers can get quick cash, the 

transaction is largely irreversible, and they can remain anonymous. 

According to reports

received by the FTC,

scams demanding gift cards most often start with a phone call 

from someone impersonating a well-known business or 

government authority.5 Many people report that a scammer 

posing as Amazon or Apple told them to send pictures of the 

numbers on gift cards to fix a supposed security problem with their 

account. Sometimes they call those numbers “security codes.” But 

the only thing the numbers are good for is taking the money on 

the card. Other people report that a scammer claiming to be the 

Social Security Administration said their bank accounts would be 

frozen as part of an investigation. They’re told to buy gift cards to 

avoid arrest or to secure access to their money. Reports also show 

that scammers asking for gift cards pretend to be a love interest, 

employer, sweepstakes or lottery company, or family member in 

trouble. 

Whatever the story, reports show that scammers don’t settle for 

just any card – they tell people the specific gift card brands to buy. 

In the first nine months of 2021, over twice as much money was 

reported lost on Target gift cards than any other brand. Google Play gift cards were next, followed by Apple, 

eBay, and Walmart cards. 
December 2021 

Data Spotlight | Scammers prefer gift cards, but not just any card will do 2 

Scammers also tell people where to buy the gift cards. In the first nine months of 2021, people who reported 

losing money buying gift cards mentioned Target stores more than other retailers. Reports suggest that 

Walmart, Best Buy, CVS, and Walgreens stores are also popular with scammers. 

Scammers use lots of tricks to avoid detection. People often say the scammer sent them to several store 

locations to make multiple purchases. Scammers tell people to stay on the phone with the scammer the entire 

time – a trick to make sure they don’t call anyone who might help. Scammers even coach people on what to say 

if a cashier asks questions; they don’t want anyone to stop the scam, and they know store employees are often 

the only people who can help. 

Both the number of 

reported gift card scams 

and total losses have 

increased every year since 

2018.6 Losses are certainly 

up due to the higher

number of reports, but 

individuals also report that 

they’re losing a lot more 

money. In fact, losses of 

$5,000 or more have 

increased from about 8% of 

reports in 2018 to about 

14% in the first nine months 

of 2021. Over the same 

period, median reported 

losses increased from $700 

to $1,000. 

Losses also vary by card 

brand. Target cards, for 

example, saw a median 

reported loss of $2,500 in 

the first nine months of the 

year, far higher than other 

frequently reported cards.7 In addition, 30% of people who paid with a Target card said they lost $5,000 or 

more.8

 

Whenever someone demands to be paid with a gift card, that’s a scam. It’s just that simple. Gift cards are for 

gifts, not for payments. If someone convinced you to give them the numbers on a gift card or send them a 

photo, hang onto the card and your receipt, and report it to the card issuer right away. You’ll find contact 

information for some major gift cards at ftc.gov/giftcards. Then report your experience to the FTC at 

ReportFraud.ftc.gov. 

If you’re a retailer, or state or local law enforcement, and you’re interested in helping your customers and 

neighbors avoid gift card scams, visit ftc.gov/StopGiftCardScams to download, print, and share materials in your 

store and community.
December 2021 

Data Spotlight | Scammers prefer gift cards, but not just any card will do 3 

1 From January 2018 through September 2021, 26.6% of consumers who reported losing money to fraud indicated the money was taken using gift cards or reload 

cards. From January 2021 through September 2021, this figure was 26.1%. Reports that do not indicate a method of payment are excluded. These figures and 

figures throughout this Spotlight are based on fraud reports directly to the FTC indicating gift card or reload card as the method of payment. Fraud reports classified 

as “online shopping” are excluded here and throughout this Spotlight because of the legitimate use of gift cards among large retailers.

2 Gift cards were the most frequently reported payment method for fraud in 2018, 2019, 2020, and in the first nine months of 2021. From January 2018 through 

September 2021, the second most frequently reported payment method was credit cards. From January 2021 through September 2021, the second most frequently 

reported payment method was cryptocurrency. 

3 From January 2021 through September 2021, 39,263 reports indicating $147.8 million in gift card and reload card payments were submitted, compared to 36,682 

reports indicating $115.1 million in reported gift card payments in all of 2020. Earlier year figures for comparison purposes are as follows: 35,323 reports with $100 

million reported lost (2019), 32,084 reports with $70.6 million reported lost (2018). 

4 See Anderson, K. B., To Whom Do Victims of Mass-Market Consumer Fraud Complain? at 1 (May 2021), available at

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3852323 (study showed only 4.8% of people who experienced mass-market consumer fraud complained to a 

Better Business Bureau (“BBB”) or a government entity).

5 From January 2021 through September 2021, 12,239 people reported losing $35.5 million to business impersonators using gift cards, and 7,844 people reported 

losing $39.6 million to government impersonators using gift cards. Excluding reports that did not indicate a contact method, a phone call was the method of contact 

in 37% of reports indicating gift cards as the method of payment, followed by email (18%) and social media (16%). 

6 See footnote 3.

7 The median individual reported losses from January 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021 by gift card brand are as follows: Target ($2,500), Walmart ($1,380), 

Apple ($800), eBay ($600), and Google Play ($500). Median individual losses are based on the total loss reported by the consumer, which often includes more than 

one gift card purchase. 

8 The percentage of reports from January 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021 indicating a loss of $5,000 or more by gift card brand are as follows: Target (30%), 

Apple (13%), Walmart (12%), Google Play (6%), and eBay (3%). Of the $148 million reported lost to gift card scams during this period, $111 million were losses 

reported by people who reported a loss of $5,000 or more.

The FTC uses reports from the public to investigate and stop fraud, for consumer education and outreach, and for analyses like this. File 

your fraud report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. To explore Sentinel data, visit FTC.gov/exploredata.