Gift card payment requests are always scams. No government agency, legitimate business, utility company, or tech support company accepts gift cards as payment. If someone is asking for gift card numbers, they are a scammer.
About this scam type: Anyone asking you to buy gift cards and send the numbers
ScamRadar verdict: scam · Risk score: 100/100
Text from 'boss': Hi, are you available? I'm in a meeting and can't take calls. I need you to do me a favor — pick up 10 Apple gift cards at $200 each for client appreciation gifts. Scratch off the back, take photos of the codes, and text them to me. I'll reimburse you tonight. Thanks!
If anyone (boss, IRS, Social Security, utility, family member) asks you to pay with gift cards, it is 100% a scam. Gift cards are only for gifts. There are zero exceptions.
If you bought and shared the gift card codes, contact the gift card company immediately with the receipts and codes — Apple at 1-800-275-2273, Google Play at the gift card support page, Target Guest Services at 1-800-544-2943, eBay at 1-866-540-3229, Walmart at 1-888-537-5503. Recovery is rare but possible if reported within hours and the cards have not been redeemed yet. Save all receipts. Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, FBI IC3 at ic3.gov, and your state attorney general. If the request impersonated your real boss or family member, alert them so they can warn others — the impersonation often comes from a compromised email or social account that needs to be locked down.
Legitimate parties do not accept gift cards as payment. The IRS does not accept gift cards. Social Security does not accept gift cards. Utility companies do not accept gift cards. Police, courts, bail bondsmen, and tow companies do not accept gift cards. Your boss does not need gift cards bought urgently with codes texted to them. Any request to pay anyone with a gift card is the entire definition of a scam — there are no edge cases. Verify any urgent request from someone you know by calling them on a number you already have for them, never the number in the suspicious message.
Gift cards are like cash — once the codes are shared, the funds are immediately moved or sold on dark web markets, and there is no way to reverse the transaction. Wire transfers can sometimes be recalled; gift cards almost never can.
Only if the cards have not been redeemed and you report quickly. Call the gift card company directly with the receipts and codes. Recovery is rare but possible within the first few hours. Save all receipts and codes as evidence.
They don't. The 'boss text scam' impersonates an executive's name and uses spoofed phone numbers or email accounts. Real executives don't ask employees to buy gift cards, especially with urgency and codes by text. Call your boss on their known number to verify.
Never. No legitimate company, government agency, utility, court, or bail service accepts gift cards as payment. Anyone asking for them is a scammer regardless of how official the request sounds.
Report to the gift card issuer immediately, file at reportfraud.ftc.gov, FBI IC3 at ic3.gov, and your state attorney general. Save all receipts, codes, and messages as evidence.
Last reviewed: 2026-06-24 by the ScamRadar editorial team. We update this page when scammer tactics change or when official agencies issue new guidance.
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