Payment scams
understand the Red Flags
“Know your role”

Scammers may impersonate or purport to be acting on behalf of your boss or another business associate and then ask you to purchase and deliver gift cards for a variety of fake reasons purportedly to assist the business. Examples include asking you to purchase gift cards to hand out as gifts at a holiday party, to assist with employee travel, to distribute to attendees at a business conference, for use as employee incentives, or to support a charitable endeavor in which the business is participating. You should let the business do its own purchasing of gift cards for such purposes. They know how to do it. Recognize your role and avoid the scam.

Scammers may ask you to purchase gift cards and deliver them to assist a needy cause in lieu of sending cash or making cash donations for the cause. Examples include purchasing gift cards and delivering them to assist a purported religious project, charitable event, or disaster recovery. You should leave the delivery of gift cards needed for worthy causes to the businesses that issue the cards. Recognize your role and avoid the scam.

Scammers may ask you to purchase gift cards and deliver them to assist in an emergency. Examples include purchasing gift cards to assist an arrested relative with bail money, to make a past due tuition payment so a grandchild can stay in college, to help a relative overcome a problem in a foreign country (such as renewing a passport), or to help a grandchild avoid a poor credit rating. It can even be outright ransom for the release of a relative who the scammer claims are being held in captivity and with the scammer supporting the ruse with a voice from the relative generated using artificial intelligence. Recognize your role and avoid the scam.

Scammers may impersonate or purport to be acting on behalf of a government agency and then ask you to purchase and deliver gift cards for a variety of fake reasons. Examples include purchasing gift cards to pay taxes or local assessments, such as taxes due on a fake lottery win or on a manufactured inheritance. Government agencies never ask for payment in the form of gift cards. Recognize your role and avoid the scam.