Fake Wise Gift Card Demand Scam
Fraudsters impersonate Wise compliance and claim business or personal accounts must deposit gift-card funds to cover a compliance reserve or avoid regulatory action.
Part of: Gift Card Balance-Draining Scams
Last reviewed: 8 June 2026
Wise serves both personal and business customers across many countries. For business users, Wise occasionally applies compliance holds while it verifies the purpose of a transfer or the nature of the business. Scammers exploit this real feature by contacting Wise users — especially business account holders who are already in a genuine hold — claiming the hold can be lifted by providing a gift-card compliance deposit.
For a business waiting on a critical cross-border payment, the prospect of quickly resolving a compliance hold is attractive. The scammer targets businesses whose transfers are visibly delayed (gleaned from forums or social media where users publicly ask for help) and tailors the gift-card demand accordingly.
No regulatory framework anywhere in the world requires gift-card payments as a compliance deposit. Any such demand is definitively fraudulent.
How this scam works on the Wise brand
A business account holder whose Wise transfer has been held for compliance review receives a DM on Twitter/X from what appears to be the Wise Business support account. The message references the hold and says: 'Our compliance team needs a deposit of $[amount] in Google Play gift cards to process the additional verification required for international transfers above your current threshold.' The account uses Wise's logo and 'Wise Business Support' as a display name.
Alternatively, an email from wise-compliance-services.com states that the account is flagged for exceeding anti-money-laundering thresholds and that a provisional deposit in gift cards is required to maintain account access while the review is completed. A deadline is set for the next business day.
In both cases, checking the real Wise account shows a standard compliance hold with no gift-card requirement and no external notification.
Common red flags
- Wise never asks for gift-card payments as a compliance deposit — this is an absolute rule.
- The contact arrived via social media DM rather than through the Wise app or from @wise.com.
- The email domain is not wise.com.
- Your Wise account shows a compliance hold but no corresponding request for any external payment.
- The 'compliance team' cannot confirm the exact hold amount or the reason for the hold when asked.
- The deadline for payment is extremely short — next business day or less.
- The contact refers to a gift-card denomination in a currency that does not match your country.
How to protect yourself
- Manage all compliance holds through the Wise app or wise.com/help — never respond to external contacts about holds.
- Wise compliance processes are communicated through the app and to your registered @wise.com email.
- If your transfer is genuinely held, contact Wise through the in-app chat to get accurate status information.
- Report any social media account claiming to be Wise support to the platform.
- Know that compliance gift-card deposits are not a real financial regulation anywhere in the world.
How to report it
- Report the social media impersonation account to the platform's abuse team.
- Forward phishing emails to [email protected].
- Report through the Wise app: Help > Report a problem.
- Report to Action Fraud (UK) at actionfraud.police.uk.
- File with ic3.gov if gift cards were purchased.
Frequently asked questions
Does Wise use gift cards for compliance deposits?
No. Wise holds compliance reserves from within your account balance where applicable. No financial regulator anywhere requires businesses to pay compliance deposits via gift cards.
My Wise transfer is on hold. How do I find out why?
Check the Wise app — it will explain the hold and what documents are needed. You can also contact Wise through the in-app chat for clarification. Do not seek help through social media DMs.
Wise Twitter support replied to my public post asking for gift cards. What should I do?
Report the account to Twitter/X for impersonating Wise. Wise does use social media for support, but it will direct you to the app or official website for sensitive account matters and will never request gift cards.