Scam Awareness

Gift Card Scams Are on the Rise: What You Need to Know to Avoid Being Tricked Intro Gift cards are a convenient present, but they’ve also become a favorite tool for scammers. On December 15, 2025, Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued an alert warning District residents about a surge in gift card scams. While the alert targets local consumers, the tactics and takeaways apply nationwide. If you receive an unexpected call, text, or email demanding payment via a gift card, it’s almost certainly a scam. ...

How to Spot and Avoid Gift Card Scams: A New Alert from D.C.’s Attorney General In mid-December 2025, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued a consumer alert warning District residents about a surge in gift card scams. The alert is short, but it underscores a problem that drains hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans every year. The tactics scammers use are remarkably consistent—and once you know them, they become much easier to spot. ...

Gift Card Scams: What to Watch For and How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever received an urgent phone call demanding payment with a gift card, you’re not imagining things—it’s a hallmark of one of the most persistent consumer frauds today. Gift card scams have grown so common that consumer protection agencies across the country regularly issue warnings. In December 2025, Washington D.C.’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb released an alert specifically about these schemes, reminding residents—and by extension, all consumers—that gift cards are meant for giving, not for paying bills or debts. ...

Gift Card Scams Are Surging: Here’s How to Spot and Stop Them Gift cards make convenient presents, but they’ve also become a favorite tool for scammers. In December 2025, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued an alert warning District residents about a rise in gift card fraud. The warning isn’t just local—gift card scams are one of the most common types of payment fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) year after year. If you’ve ever received an urgent call, email, or text asking you to buy gift cards for payment, you need to know the red flags. ...

Gift Card Scams: How to Spot Them and What to Do If someone you don’t know calls, emails, or texts you and demands payment with a gift card, it is a scam. No legitimate company, government agency, or utility will ever ask you to buy a gift card and read them the numbers on the back. ...

Gift Card Scams Are Surging: What the DC Attorney General’s Recent Alert Means for You If you’ve ever received an unexpected phone call demanding payment by gift card, you are not alone. Last December, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued an alert specifically warning residents about the rise of gift card scams. The alert, published on the OAG website, highlights how scammers are targeting consumers with increasingly convincing stories—and how quickly money can disappear once a gift card code is shared. ...

How to Spot and Avoid ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams: A Consumer Alert In February 2026, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a public warning about a growing type of fraud known as “pig butchering.” The name is grim but descriptive: scammers “fatten up” victims with fake relationships and small, believable returns before slaughtering them financially. The warning from the AG’s office isn’t just for New Yorkers—these scams are spreading across the country. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself. ...

Gift Card Scams Are on the Rise: How to Spot Them and Protect Your Money If you get a call demanding payment with a gift card, it’s a scam. That message comes not only from consumer advocates but recently from the District of Columbia Attorney General’s office, which issued an alert warning residents about a surge in gift card fraud. While the alert targeted Washington, D.C., the scam itself is nationwide. Gift card scams are among the most frequently reported types of fraud to the Federal Trade Commission. Understanding how they work—and what to do if you’ve been targeted—can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. ...

Gift Card Scams Are Surging: How to Spot and Avoid Them Gift cards are convenient, but they’ve also become a favorite tool for scammers. In December 2025, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued an alert warning residents about a spike in gift card fraud. While the alert is aimed at Washington, D.C., the tactics used are widespread, and the advice applies to consumers everywhere. ...

A Timely Warning: How to Protect Yourself from Gift Card Scams In mid-December 2025, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb issued a direct alert to residents, warning of the persistent and costly threat of gift card scams. This official notice underscores a simple, alarming fact: if anyone demands payment via a gift card, it is almost certainly a scam. ...