Should I buy gift cards for someone I met online?
No.
This is the clearest answer on this entire site. There is no version of this that turns out well, and there is no exception.
Why it's this absolute
Gift cards are the scammer's favorite payment because they behave like cash that can be spent from another country in minutes. Once the numbers on the back are read out loud, the money is gone, and there is no bank, no chargeback, and no recall.
That's why they ask for them. It's the only reason anyone would.
Nobody legitimate has ever needed to be paid in gift cards. Not the IRS, not Microsoft, not Apple, not a utility, not a court, not a bail bondsman, not a hospital, not a soldier, not a surgeon, not a customs office, not a friend overseas.
The stories you'll hear
Every one of these is a scam, without exception:
- He's deployed and can't access his accounts
- She's a doctor overseas and her cards are blocked
- It's for a customs fee on a package coming to you
- It's the fastest way to send help
- He'll pay you back double when the contract closes
- The IRS/court/police will accept them as payment
- It's to verify your account
- It's for a computer repair fee
- Your grandson's bail
If you're being asked right now
Send nothing. Not one card. Not a small one to help out.
The small first request is a test — of whether you'll say yes, and of whether you'll tell anybody. Passing it doesn't end the asking. It begins it.
Then, before you do anything else:
Tell one person out loud. A friend, a son or daughter, a neighbor, the front desk. Not to ask permission — just say the situation out loud to another human being. Most people hear the answer in their own sentence.
If you'd rather talk to a stranger who won't judge you and doesn't know your family: 877-908-3360, the AARP Fraud Watch Helpline, weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. Free for anyone. They handle exactly this every single day.
If someone at the store asks you about it
Many stores now train cashiers to ask when someone buys several gift cards, and they get told to mind their own business fairly often.
Tell them the truth. They aren't being nosy. That question exists because it has stopped thousands of losses, and the cashier standing in front of you may be the last person able to help before the money is gone.
If someone on the phone has told you what to say to the cashier, that alone settles it. You are being coached to defeat a protection that exists for you.
If you already sent the numbers
Move fast — occasionally the money is still on the card:
- Call the card company, not the store: Apple, Google Play, Target, Amazon, eBay, Steam. Say the card was used in a scam.
- Have the card numbers and the receipt ready. Keep the physical cards.
- Report at reportfraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov.
- Expect a "we can recover it for you" call in the coming weeks. That's the next scam.
Full list: I think I was scammed.
The easiest "no" you'll ever say
Almost nothing in life is this clear-cut. This is: gift cards to someone you haven't met, for any reason at all, is always a scam.
You never have to weigh it, research it, or feel bad about declining. One rule, zero exceptions, and you're done.
Related: How they ask to be paid · The person who was never real