AhaBulbStuff Everyone Should Know
AhaBulb: Stuff Everyone Should Know · ahabulb.com/gift-card-scam

A caller says you owe money and must pay right now with gift cards. Which of these would ever ask you to pay that way?

No real business or government agency will ever make you pay with gift cards, so anyone who asks is a scammer.

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  1. The IRS, if you owe back taxes
  2. The power company, to stop a shutoff
  3. None of them, ever ✔

Why: No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them. Anyone who asks for the numbers off the back of a card is a scammer. If it already happened, keep the card and the receipt and report it to the gift card company right away.

Huh, didn't know that: If it already happened, keep the card and the receipt and report it to the gift card company right away.

The dad joke
Where can you always find money? In the dictionary.
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References

Answer: None of them, ever. No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them. Anyone who asks for the numbers off the back of a card is a scammer. If it already happened, keep the card and the receipt and report it to the gift card company right away.

  1. FTC: Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams consumer.ftc.gov/avoiding-reporting-gift-card-scams
    No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them.
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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That's stuff everyone should know.