Gift Card & Voucher Scams UK — How They Work, and How to Stop Them

Scammers ask for gift cards because the codes are as good as cash — instantly spendable, sold on in minutes, and almost impossible to trace. Their story can be anything: an overdue bill, a fine, a tax demand, a partner in trouble, a prize to release, or a "fraud team" protecting your money. The payment method is the tell. This guide explains how gift card and voucher scams work in the UK, the red flags, who is targeted, and exactly what to do if you have already read out the codes.

What are gift card and voucher scams?

A gift card or voucher scam is any fraud where the criminal is paid in gift cards — Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Steam, or a supermarket card — rather than by bank transfer or card. They work by convincing you that a trusted organisation, a company, or even a relative needs paying, right now, in a way that feels private. The moment you read out the code on the back, the money is as good as gone.

There are two broad versions. The first is payment fraud: you are tricked into buying cards and handing over the codes. The second is card draining: a criminal tampers with cards still on a shop shelf, so that when a genuine buyer loads one, the criminal empties it first.

How gift card scams work in the UK

The payment con

A caller, text, email or social message makes contact. They claim to be from a trusted source and invent pressure — an unpaid bill or fine, a tax demand, a "security" problem with your account, a prize or refund to release, a relative in an emergency, or someone you met online who suddenly needs help. They tell you to buy gift cards, usually from several different shops, and then ask you to read out the codes. Once they have the codes, the balance is spent within minutes.

Card draining (tampering on the shelf)

This one does not need any contact at all. A criminal picks up a gift card in a shop, scratches off the strip covering the code, records the number, then covers it back up and returns it to the shelf. They then wait for a genuine shopper to buy and load that card — and drain the balance before the recipient gets round to using it. Action Fraud has reported this trend in the UK, and BBC News has documented shoppers losing the value of cards they had bought as gifts.

Voucher and experience scams

Vouchers — for days out, restaurants, experiences or online stores — are used in the same way, and have their own risks beyond fraud. Which? advises checking the terms printed on the voucher or its packaging at the point of purchase, because expiry dates and conditions matter, and if important terms were hidden on the reverse of a card you could not read before buying, you may be able to argue they are not binding.

Why scammers love gift cards

• They are treated like cash. Police Scotland's advice is blunt: gift cards can be sold on, cannot be refunded, traced or disputed, and the scammer only needs the code on the back.
• They are instantly spendable. Unlike a bank transfer, there is no bank in the middle to flag or recall the payment.
• They are hard to reverse. Once a code is redeemed, the balance is gone — there is no chargeback route on the card itself.
• They sidestep bank safeguards. Trading Standards and Report Fraud have both linked the rise in gift card fraud to stronger bank protections, with criminals pushed towards gift cards as an alternative way in (BBC News).
• They are under-reported. The head of the National Trading Standards Scams Team said she was "not a surprise" that gift card fraud is rising, and believes it is likely under-reported. The FCA has also warned that romance-fraud figures may be understated because investigators have not always counted gift card purchases.

What it costs UK victims

These are the figures we can stand behind, each traced to a named source:

We do not publish losses we cannot source, and we do not inflate them. Where a figure is described as estimated or under-reported in the source, we say so.

Red flags — the signs to look for

• Gift cards are the payment method. This is the single clearest sign. Legitimate businesses offer ordinary payment routes; Amazon states plainly that legitimate individuals and businesses will never ask for payment through Amazon gift cards.
• They ask you to read out the code. No one legitimate needs the code on the back of a card you have bought. Once it is read out, it is spent.
• They ask you to buy from several shops. Splitting purchases across retailers is a technique to avoid staff noticing.
• They ask you to keep it secret. "Don't tell the cashier why you're buying them" is a fraud instruction, not normal behaviour.
• Urgency and threats. Arrest, court action, a closed account, or a relative in danger are used to stop you thinking. Age UK's advice is clear that legitimate organisations never force you to make a financial decision on the spot, and would not ask you to pay taxes, bills or fees with a gift card or voucher.
• They stay on the phone. Keeping you on the line stops you checking with anyone else.
• The card looked tampered with. Check the packaging before you buy: look for signs of the scratch-off panel being disturbed, resealed or replaced, and compare it with others on the shelf. Keep your receipt.

Who is targeted

Gift card fraud follows the money. It reaches anyone who trusts an official-seeming caller or a familiar face, but it is used disproportionately against people with savings and against those less likely to challenge an urgent request — older adults in particular. The National Trading Standards Scams Team believes the true scale is higher than the reports show, and Age UK advises families to talk to older relatives about payment methods, because gifts like cards and vouchers are exactly the things people buy without a second thought.

It also runs alongside two scams we cover in detail: fake "fraud team" and payment calls (bank & payment scams) and relationships built purely to extract money (romance scams). In both, an unexpected payment request is the moment to stop.

If you have already read out the codes

Act now, in this order. Speed is the only thing likely to recover anything.

1. Stop and keep the card and receipt. Do not buy more cards, and do not read out any further codes — scammers will push you to "fix" the problem with more cards. That is the trap.
2. Call the gift card issuer's fraud team immediately. If you still have the card, the receipt, or the codes, the issuer may be able to freeze an unredeemed balance. Do this before anything else.
3. Contact your bank if you paid for the cards by card. Report the purchase and ask whether the payment can be disputed or charged back.
4. Report it to Report Fraud — the national fraud reporting service, which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025 — at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. Our reporting guide walks through it.
5. Tell the retailer where you bought the cards so they can check the shelf for tampering and warn other customers.
6. Be wary of anyone who contacts you offering to recover your money. Recovery fraud targets people who have already lost money. A legitimate recovery route will never ask for an upfront fee.

Falling for this does not make you foolish — the scam is engineered to defeat exactly the instincts that normally protect you. If someone is pressuring you right now, our emergency "I've been scammed" triage guide sets out the first steps, and dial 159 connects you safely to your bank's fraud team.

How to report a gift card scam

• Report Fraud — reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040 (fraud and financial loss).
• Your bank — dial 159 if you need a safe route to your bank's fraud team.
• The gift card issuer — ask for their fraud team; have your receipt and card details ready.
• The retailer — so tampered cards can be pulled from the shelf.
• Scam texts — forward to 7726 (free).
• Suspicious emails — forward to [email protected] (the NCSC Suspicious Email Reporting Service).
• Trading Standards — report suspect sellers and doorstep tactics to your local council's Trading Standards team.
• In Scotland — report to Police Scotland on 101.

Frequently asked questions

Why do scammers ask for gift cards?
Gift cards are treated like cash. As Police Scotland puts it, they can be sold on, cannot be refunded, traced or disputed, and a scammer only needs the code on the back. That combination makes them one of the hardest payments to recover.

Will my bank, the police or a government body ever ask to be paid in gift cards?
No. No genuine bank, police force, government body or business will ever ask you to settle a bill, a fine or a fee with a gift card. Amazon states plainly that legitimate individuals and businesses will never ask for payment through Amazon gift cards.

What is gift card draining?
It is tampering with cards on a shop shelf. A criminal records the code from a card, covers it back up, and waits for a shopper to load money onto it — then drains the balance before the recipient uses it. Action Fraud has reported this trend to UK shops.

I have read out the codes — can I still get the money back?
Sometimes. Act immediately: call the gift card issuer's fraud team with your receipt, contact your bank if you paid for the cards by card, and report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040. Funds can occasionally be frozen, but recovery is not guaranteed and speed is everything.

How do I report a gift card scam in the UK?
Report it to Report Fraud (reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040), tell the retailer and the gift card issuer, and contact your bank if you paid by card. In Scotland you can also report to Police Scotland on 101. If you are in immediate danger, call 999.