I paid with gift cards

The numbers on the back of a gift card are the money. Whoever has them can spend the balance without ever holding the card.

No legal deadline. Call now: the sooner you call, the better the chance some money is still on the card. Who to call.

If it’s happening now

They’re on the phone and you’re at the store. Hang up before you pay or scratch anything off. Tell the cashier what the caller told you to do.

You bought the cards but haven’t given out the numbers. Hang up. Nothing has left yet. The cards in your hand are still worth what you paid, and you can use them yourself. Keep them and the receipt.

They have some numbers and want more cards. Stop buying. Hang up and call the company on each card you already gave them.

They call back, maybe from another number or as a supervisor. Same move: hang up.

They’re on your computer too. Hold the power button until it shuts off, then use your phone. Full steps: Someone is on the line or on my screen right now.

What to say

• I bought gift cards because of a scam, and the scammer has the numbers. Please freeze whatever's left on them. I've got the cards and the receipt. I need a case number.

• Is any of the money still on the cards? I'd like it refunded. If you won't, can you send me that decision in writing?

• Someone on the phone told me to buy these and not say why. I think it's a scam, so I'm not buying them.

If something already left your hands

Call the company on the card

Ask them to freeze whatever’s left and to refund you. Weeks ago? Call anyway. The FTC says to report it no matter how long ago it happened.

Get the number from this list, from the back of the card, or from the company’s own website, typed in yourself. Not from a search result: scammers buy ads that put their own number next to a real company’s name.

• Apple Gift Card, or an older App Store or iTunes card: 800-275-2273. Say “gift cards” when the menu asks.
• Google Play: online report form. Google lists no phone number for this. The person who was scammed has to file it. No Google account? The same page links a separate form.
• Amazon: Amazon’s help page lists no phone number for this. Sign in at amazon.com, go to Customer Service, and ask for the Customer Protection Review team. No Amazon account? Amazon will have you make one first.
• Target: 1-800-544-2943
• Walmart: 888-537-5503
• Best Buy: 1-888-716-7994. Best Buy asks for the original receipt.
• eBay: no phone number listed. Use Help & Contact on ebay.com to chat with Customer Service. The FTC’s list also mentions a callback.
• Steam: help.steampowered.com. No phone number listed.
• Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Vanilla, or any other brand: the number printed on the back of the card, or the FTC’s list of gift card companies.

Every number we list, with hours.

What the call will be like

Have the cards and receipts in front of you. Expect a phone menu. They’ll likely ask for the number on the back of each card and proof you bought it, which is the receipt. Reading the card number to a company you dialed yourself is fine. That’s how they find it.

Cards from more than one company mean one call per company. Start with the cards you gave them last. They’ve had the least time to be spent. Write down each case number and who you spoke to.

If they say the money is gone or they won’t refund it

Gift cards don’t get the federal fraud protections that bank accounts and debit cards do. A refund is the company’s decision. If the scammer already spent the money, expect a no. If it was frozen or still on the card, some companies give it back. The FTC says to ask.

If they say no, ask for the decision in writing. Then file a complaint with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. On the form, pick Prepaid card, then Gift card. For a store’s own card, the CFPB may pass the complaint to another agency.

Paid for the cards with a credit card? You can ask that card company too, but the store did sell you real cards, so it may treat the charge as yours.

That’s the urgent part. The rest can wait a few hours.

After the calls

If they also got your Social Security number, bank or card details, a password, a code, or your computer, deal with that next, from a device they never touched: I let someone control my computer, I gave out a code, password, or card number.

Keep everything. The cards, the receipts, and a photo of the front and back of each card. Screenshots of the texts or emails, the number that called, and the names they used. Save evidence without spiraling.

Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If it started online, with a pop-up, an email, a website, or a social media message, also file with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). AARP suggests a police report too and says to insist on one. More: Where to report it.

If you’re 60 or older, or helping someone who is, the National Elder Fraud Hotline assigns a case manager to help with the reports. Scammers pose as its staff, so call it yourself.

If someone offers to get it back

Anyone who offers to recover your money for a fee is running a second scam. That includes callers who say they’re from the FBI, IC3, the FTC, a law firm, or the gift card company. Hang up and call the company yourself. Someone offers to get my money back.

Talking to someone

AARP’s helpline is free and open to anyone. It also runs free, confidential online support groups for people who lost money to fraud and for their families.

If the loss has you thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988.

What it looks like

11:40 a.m. You're in the CVS parking lot with two $500 Apple Gift Cards. The caller, who said he's with Social Security, is still on speaker.

(410) 555-0119

Incoming call · 11:40 AM

1. Caller You got them? Good. Don't scratch anything off yet.
2. Caller Like I told you, you're not paying anybody. Those cards stay in your name and in your hands until your new number is issued.
3. Caller I just need to verify they were loaded correctly and attach them to your case file.
4. Caller So scratch off the back and read me the numbers. Or take a picture of the back and text it to me, whichever's easier.

He says the cards never leave your hands. What do you do?

• Read him the numbers. The cards stay with you, so the money does too
• Ask for his badge number and a number to call him back on first
• Hang up. Keep the cards and the receipt

Show the answers

• Wrong move Read him the numbers. The cards stay with you, so the money does too With the numbers on the back he can spend the whole balance without ever touching the card.
• Wrong move Ask for his badge number and a number to call him back on first He'll have a badge number ready, and the number he gives you reaches him. Social Security's Inspector General says real employees never demand gift cards, so there's nothing to check.
• Best move Hang up. Keep the cards and the receipt Nothing has left yet. Until someone has the numbers, the money on those cards is still yours.

Reading the numbers to a caller hands over the money, whatever reason he gives.

Yesterday you read the numbers on two Marlenby gift cards to a caller. This morning you dialed the number printed on the back of the card.

(800) 555-0174

Outgoing call · 9:05 AM

1. Automated Marlenby Gift Card Services. Say "balance," "lost card," or "fraud."
2. You Fraud.
3. Rep This is Dana in gift card fraud. Do you have the cards and the receipt with you?
4. You Yes.
5. Rep Okay. Read me the card number on the back of the first one, and the date and store on the receipt. I'll check what's left and put a hold on it.

She wants the number on the back. What do you do?

• Read her the card number and the receipt details
• Refuse, and ask her to find the card by your name
• Hang up and dial again, in case the scammer picked up

Show the answers

• Best move Read her the card number and the receipt details You dialed the number on the card yourself. The card number is how the company finds the card and freezes what's left, and the receipt shows you bought it.
• Wrong move Refuse, and ask her to find the card by your name The company finds a gift card by its number, not your name. Holding it back gives the scammer more time with whatever's still on it.
• Wrong move Hang up and dial again, in case the scammer picked up You dialed the number printed on the card. It reaches the company. Calling again just costs time.

What matters is who dialed. When you call the number on the card or on the company's own website, giving them the card number is how they find it and freeze it.

You searched for a number to report a gift card scam. The first result said Sponsored. You tapped it.

giftcard-freezedesk.com/report

Gift Card Freeze Desk

Bought gift cards for a scammer?

Unused balances can often be frozen if you act fast. Our agents work with Apple, Google Play, Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Steam to file your claim.

Call now, 24/7: 1-888-555-0163

Have your cards and receipts ready.

It says it works with the company on your card. What do you do?

• Call the number. They'll want the card numbers anyway
• Call, but don't give them any numbers until they prove they're real
• Close it and call the number on the back of the card

Show the answers

• Wrong move Call the number. They'll want the card numbers anyway The FTC warns that scammers buy search ads and put their own number next to a real company's name. A desk that isn't the company on the card can't freeze anything. It can only spend what's left or charge you a fee.
• Wrong move Call, but don't give them any numbers until they prove they're real Nothing they say on the phone proves it, and the real freeze waits while you talk.
• Best move Close it and call the number on the back of the card Only the company whose name is on the card can freeze it. Its number is printed on the card and on its own website, typed in yourself.

The first result in a search can be an ad. Get the number from the card, from the company's own site, or from this page.

What they’ll ask for

No real business or government agency that contacts you tells you to buy gift cards, to pay them or for any other reason. Each of these is the scam.

“Go buy $500 in Apple cards and call me from the parking lot.” Apple gift cards only buy things from Apple. Apple says they can’t pay bills, taxes, or government fees.

“Scratch off the back and read me the numbers.” “Just text me a photo of the back.” Either one hands over the money. Hang up.

“It’s only to verify them. The cards stay in your name.” There’s nothing to verify. A gift card works for anyone who has the numbers.

“Buy them at different stores.” “If the cashier asks, say they’re gifts.” That’s so a cashier doesn’t stop you. Tell the cashier the truth.

“Stay on the line while you drive to the store.” Hang up. Nobody real needs to listen while you shop.

“We refunded you too much. Send back the difference in gift cards.” Hang up. Check your balance in your bank’s app, not on the page they showed you. They can fake a bank page. No real company fixes a refund mistake with gift cards.

“Pick up some Google certificates for the client meeting. I’ll pay you back.” Someone is using your boss’s name. Check with your boss on a number you already have.

“Don’t tell anyone. Not the bank, not your family.” Social Security’s Inspector General lists asking you to keep secrets as something real employees never do. Tell someone.