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Wrapped gifts and a card on a table
Dating scam guide

Gift-card and emergency-money requests

Also known as: emergency scam, stuck abroad scam, gift card romance scam

How it works

Once a relationship is established the person suddenly needs money fast – to pay a hospital, a fine, travel costs, a visa, customs, or even to 'stay online' to keep talking. They ask for gift cards (asking you to send photos of the card numbers), wire transfers, payment-app transfers or crypto because these are hard to reverse. Each payment is followed by a new crisis.

Who is targetedAnyone in an online relationship; older adults frequently.
How fast it movesAfter trust is built; then repeats with new crises (18 months in the New York case).
Typical routeDating site / Facebook -> messaging -> gift cards (card numbers sent as photos), wire transfer, payment apps

Red flags

  • They ask you to buy gift cards and send photos of the numbers
  • They need money urgently for a hospital, fine, visa, travel or customs
  • They ask you to pay to keep their phone or internet 'online'
  • They ask you to use a payment method that cannot be reversed

Check your match against all 44 red flags

Recent cases

Real cases reported by courts, police, regulators and the press. People facing pending charges are presumed innocent, and private victims are not named.

2026-06-09 · Western New York, USA · $15,000 in gift cards; $356,500 total across four victims (incl. attempted)
In a US case, a persona claiming to be a widower in Norway told a 77-year-old woman he needed gift cards to 'stay online'; she sent about 30 $500 gift cards ($15,000) plus checks. The defendant pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy.

The numbers

  • FTC: 24% of people who lost money to a romance scam paid with gift cards; median gift-card loss $700 vs $10,079 for crypto. (2022) source
  • FBI: in 2025 victims reported over $5 million lost to AI voice-cloned 'distress' scams mimicking loved ones. (2025) source

If it is happening to you

  1. Never buy gift cards for someone you met online; no genuine person or agency needs payment in gift cards.
  2. If you already sent gift cards, contact the card issuer immediately with the card numbers and receipts.
  3. Tell your bank and report.

Where to report

United Statesreportfraud.ftc.gov – FTC – ReportFraud.ftc.govic3.gov – FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) – type www.ic3.gov directly; IC3 never contacts victims by phone, social media or chat
United Kingdomreportfraud.police.uk – Report Fraud (replaced Action Fraud) – reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040stopscamsuk.org.uk/159 – Call 159 to reach your bank's fraud team safely (covers >99% of UK retail current accounts)
Canadareportcyberandfraud.canada.ca – Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre – reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca or 1-888-495-8501, and your local police
Australiascamwatch.gov.au – Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au); ReportCyber via cyber.gov.au; IDCARE 1800 595 160 for identity recovery

Related scams

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A scammer builds an online relationship using a fake or borrowed identity, often over weeks or months, and invests heavily in attention and affection.

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Young man looking at his phone in the dark

Sextortion and image blackmail

The criminal poses as an attractive person (often a young woman) on a dating app, social media or game, flirts quickly, and persuades the target to exchange nude images or join an intimate video call that is secretly recorded.

Sources

Research compiled 28 September 2026.