Consumer Protection Data Spotlight | October 2018 1 

Scammers increasingly demand payment by gift card 

Through Consumer Sentinel we hear from people 

across the country about frauds they encounter in the 

marketplace. One thing we learn from these reports is 

how scammers want to be paid. People are telling us 

that they’re increasingly being told to pay with gift 

cards – specifically, by giving someone the PIN 

number off the back of a gift card. Often people are 

specifically asked for certain brands, like iTunes and 

Google Play cards.

To understand this issue better, we looked at fraud 

reported directly to the FTC. To avoid skewing the

results, we excluded reports about shop-at-home 

purchases – this Spotlight is not about the use of 

gift cards to purchase retail goods, but rather their 

use as a payment vehicle for scams. 

We found that from January through September of 

this year, gift cards and reload cards (like 

MoneyPak) were reported as a payment method in 

26% of the fraud reports in which people told us

how they paid, up from just 7% in 2015 – a 270% 

increase. Con artists favor these cards because they 

can get quick cash, the transaction is largely 

irreversible, and they can remain anonymous. 

2018 Most Reported Gift and Reload Card Brands1

When people report

losing money to a scam:

now

2

pay with a gift card or 

6%

reload card compared to

7% 

in 2015

Scammers told them:

Go to a specific store

(Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS)

Buy a specific card 

(iTunes, Google Play)
Consumer Protection Data Spotlight | October 2018 2 

People report that con artists direct them to buy gift or 

reload cards at well-known stores like Walmart,

Target, Walgreens, and CVS. According to these 

reports, they demand some specific card brands. While 

these change over time, iTunes cards have been the top 

card brand by a wide margin since 2016. By contrast, 

Google Play cards were not reported in significant 

numbers until this year. 

Stepping back to look at all fraud reports available to 

the FTC from all sources, we found that losses where 

people reported using gift or reload cards reached $40 

million in 2017, up from $20 million in 2015 and $27 

million in 2016.

2 Through September of this year, that 

number is already $53 million. And while individual 

fraud losses using these cards have held steady at a 

$500 median loss per incident, people report losing a 

lot more to some types of scams.3 Tech support scams 

are a notable example.4 When people report paying for 

fraudulent tech support services with a gift or reload 

card, the median dollar loss is now $959, up nearly 

60% from $600 in 2017. 

It’s not just tech support scams. When people report 

paying a fraudster with a gift or reload card, about four

times out of five the fraud they report is an imposter 

scam – in fact, gift cards and reload cards are now the 

number one reported method of payment for imposter 

scams. These scammers pose as well-known 

businesses, family members, friends, or government 

agencies. They deploy various tactics to compel 

people to pay. They may pretend to be the IRS and tell 

people they cannot use other payment methods 

because of their delinquent tax status. They may even 

call iTunes cards “payment vouchers.” To avoid 

alerting store personnel, they often direct people to 

buy cards from several different stores, and they tell 

people not to talk to anyone about why they are buying 

the cards. 

Familiarity with these tactics and awareness of the 

prevalence of gift cards and reload cards as a method 

of payment for fraud may help people to recognize 

and avoid a wide range of scams. When someone 

demands to be paid with a gift card, that’s a scam. 

Payments to a fraudster made by gift card or reload 

card should be reported immediately to the card issuer. 

It may not be possible to stop funds from being 

withdrawn from the card, but it is important to alert 

companies to card fraud. Consumers should also report 

details of the incident to the FTC at 

FTC.gov/complaint. To learn more, visit 

FTC.gov/giftcards.

1 Percentages are based on the total number of fraud reports that identify a gift or reload card as a method of payment. Reports provided by data 

contributors, reports that do not specify a method of payment, and reports classified as “shop-at-home/catalog sales” are excluded. Card brands

are identified through keyword analysis of the narratives provided in this subset of reports.

2 Source: Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, Federal Trade Commission (2016 and 2017).

3 Median loss calculations are based on all fraud reports in FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network database that identify gift or reload card as a method 

of payment and include a dollar loss value of $1 to $999,999.

4 Tech support scams typically involve the impersonation of computer companies like Microsoft, and start with a call or popup warning about a 

computer virus or other technical issue. Victims pay for “repair” of a nonexistent problem.

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 FTC.gov/complaint. To explore Sentinel data, visit FTC.gov/data.