DATING SCAM DETECTORIf someone you're dating online has asked you to buy a gift card and send them the code, run through this checklist before doing anything else.
Check these five things
- Have you met in person or had a live video call? If no, that alone is reason for real caution regardless of anything else below.
- Is the request urgent or tied to an emotional story? Scam requests are almost always framed as time-sensitive and hard to say no to.
- Were you asked for the code/PIN itself, rather than the physical card? Being asked to photograph the back of the card or read the code aloud is close to universal in gift-card scams — it's the part that makes the card spendable.
- Would a real version of this situation actually be paid this way? No government fee, customs charge, legal bill, hospital, or airline accepts payment in Apple, Google Play, Amazon, or Steam gift cards. If that's the story, it's false regardless of anything else.
- Did they discourage you from telling a friend or family member first? This is one of the clearest manipulation signals across all romance scams.
If you answered "no" to #1 and "yes" to any of #2–5, treat this as a scam and stop before sending the code.
If you've already sent the code
Contact the retailer or gift card issuer's fraud line immediately with the card number and PIN — if the balance hasn't been spent yet, some issuers can freeze it. Do this within hours, not days; gift card balances are typically drained very quickly once a code is shared.
Then report it
Report the profile to the platform where you met, and file a report with a fraud authority: the CAFC in Canada, the FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov) in the US, Action Fraud in the UK, or Scamwatch in Australia. Reporting doesn't just help you — it helps flag the account and payment pattern for others.
