Apple Gift Cards are becoming a popular way for bad actors to scam you out of money, and it’s spreading worldwide. As an Apple user, we urge you to stay alert for this scam, and learn how to protect yourself.
Here’s the Scam
While gift cards have long been an attractive way for the bad actors of the world to separate you from your hard-earned cash, the scams usually these scams involve bad guys convincing their targets to purchase gift cards to use them to pay off imaginary fine or debts.
Unfrotunately, there is a new type of scam, discovered by New South Wales investigators that has has shed light on a different scam to launder money, much of which is used to fund human trafficking.
ABC News Australia reports the scam first sees the bad guys stealing Apple and other gift cards from supermarket racks, recording the codes, then putting the cards back on the racks.
Then, once a customer purchases the card and it is activated with whatever amount they like, oh, let’s say, $100 on it, the scammers spend the money. New South Wales supermarket chain Coles spent a year building a case against one 32-year-old man, who was convicted of the fraud.
Once the scammer had been seen repeatedly visiting multiple stores, police searched his home in Sydney in mid-2025. There, they found 56 Apple Gift Cards ranging from $100 to $500 in value.
He was convicted in July 2026, and received a 15-month suspended prison sentence plus a two-year community corrections order.
“Gift card tampering and fraud is an evolving challenge affecting retailers and customers both in Australia and internationally,” said a Coles spokesperson. “Coles takes the issue extremely seriously.”
“All of America’s top 20 retailers were being affected,” US Homeland Security’s lead investigator Adam Parks said. “Young Chinese nationals were being interdicted and arrested while taking cards off the rack, blank cards off the rack, taking them away from the store.”
While Apple would not comment on the Australian report, it did say that its card packaging was altered in early 2025 to make the pack much more difficult to open and then reseal.
How to Protect Yourself From This Scam
Perhaps the best way to avoid this scam is to order Apple Gift Cards online directly from Apple. Then you know they haven’t been tampered with. If you don’t really need the card, you can have a redemption code sent to you via email.
If you absolutely must purchase an Apple Gift Card from a retailer, make sure to closely examine the packs, carefully examining them for signs of tampering. While scammers may be able to hide that the pack hs been opened, there will be other signs, such as the code number beiing visible as the cover has been scrapped off.
Return a card to the retailer your purchased it from if you suspect that it has been opened and used.
What happens next depends on the retailer’s policy for such things, and possibly on the good graces of Apple. While ABC News Australia says that one victim did get a refund from Apple, you can’t assume that will always be the case.
Also, in the case of a supposed law enforcement official or debtor asking you to pay for anything in Apple or other gift cards, it is definitely a scam. No legitimate company or government agency will ever ask you to do that.
To learn more about Apple Card scams, click here.
