Gift-Card Draining
A fraud method in which criminals copy gift-card codes in-store before activation, then drain the balance after an unsuspecting customer loads funds.
Also known as: gift card fraud, gift card tampering, gift card code theft
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Gift-card draining exploits a weakness in physical retail: cards are often stored on open display before being activated. Fraudsters visit stores, carefully remove and photograph (or manually note) the card numbers and PINs hidden under scratch-off strips, then replace the cards on the rack.
They then set up automated bots to repeatedly check the card balances online. The moment a customer buys and activates the card, the criminal is alerted and quickly drains the entire balance — usually before the purchaser has even left the car park.
Gift cards are also the preferred payment method demanded in countless other fraud types — tech-support scams, romance fraud, fake government debt collection — because they are as good as cash and not reversible. When any person or organisation demands payment in gift-card codes, that is an immediate scam warning sign without exception.
Examples
- A shopper buys a £200 gift card as a present; within hours the balance is zero because the code was photographed before purchase.
- A 'government agent' demands back-taxes be paid immediately in iTunes gift card codes.