Prepaid Card
A payment card loaded with a fixed amount of money in advance, not linked to a bank account, and often used by fraudsters to receive payments anonymously.
Also known as: gift card, prepaid debit card, reload card, stored value card
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
A prepaid card is a card — often branded Visa or Mastercard — that works by spending down a pre-loaded balance rather than drawing from a bank account or credit line. They are widely used for budgeting, by unbanked consumers, for online purchases, and as gift cards.
Fraudsters favour prepaid cards as a payment demand because transactions are difficult to reverse, some cards can be purchased with cash at retail stores, and lower-value cards may have reduced identity verification requirements. Common scam scripts demand payment in iTunes, Google Play, or general prepaid Visa gift cards.
No government agency, utility company, bail bondsman, court, or IRS ever requests payment in gift or prepaid cards. If anyone asks you to purchase prepaid cards and read out the numbers over the phone, it is a scam — 100% of the time.