How to Tell If a Gift Card Is Real Before You Accept or Sell It

Chiamaka sells wigs on Instagram. A buyer in the US loves a ₦180,000 unit and offers to pay with two $100 Apple cards, "because transfers from here take forever". The photos are sharp. The cards look real. Should Chiamaka post the wig?

Not yet. A gift card can look perfect and be worth nothing, and a card that really was worth $100 last week can be worth nothing today. The checks below take about ten minutes, whether someone is handing you a card or you're about to sell one yourself.

Physical cards: six things to look at

1. The packaging

Cards on a shop rack usually come fixed inside a cardboard pack. Look for torn or re-glued edges, tape, a card that slides around loose, or packaging that's been opened and closed again. If the card came out of its pack, ask when and why.

2. The scratch-off PIN strip

On a card that's never been used, the strip covering the code should be untouched. If it's already scratched, someone may have the code. Also feel the strip with your fingertip. A known trick is to read the code off cards on a shop rack, cover it with a replacement sticker, and wait for a shopper to buy and load the card. A strip that's raised, uneven, a slightly different colour or peeling at the corner is a red flag.

3. The barcode

A sticker placed over the original barcode can mean the money loaded at the till goes to a different card. The barcode should be printed on the card or pack itself, not stuck on.

4. The activation receipt

A store gift card has no value until it's activated at the till. The receipt usually shows the store, the date, the amount loaded and the last few digits of the card. Match those digits against the card. No receipt doesn't always mean a problem, but it removes your best piece of evidence. Our guide on whether you need a receipt to sell a gift card goes into why.

5. The printing

Check the logo, the font, the value and the country. Obvious errors or blurry printing mean walk away. The reverse isn't true, though: good printing proves nothing, because a genuine card can still be empty.

6. The country

A card works in the store region it was issued for. A UK Apple card won't work on a US account. If the person paying insists it's a US card, check that the card and the receipt say so.

E-codes: where did it come from?

With an e-code there's no plastic to inspect, so the question becomes its source.

• Genuine e-codes come from the brand or an official retailer, by email or in the buyer's order history, with the amount and date on them.
• Ask for the original email, forwarded, rather than a screenshot. Check that it came from the brand's or retailer's real email domain.
• A code typed into a WhatsApp chat with no email, receipt or order behind it can't be verified at all.
• The right format isn't proof. Apple codes, for example, are 16 characters long, but a code with the right length and pattern can still be invalid or used.

The balance check is the real test

Whatever the card looks like, its value is whatever the brand's own system says. Check the balance only on the brand's official website or app, in one of its stores, or at the address printed on the card, and type that address yourself. Never use a "checker" link the other person sends you. Our guide to checking a gift card balance before selling lists the official routes for common brands.

One catch: for some brands, Amazon among them, checking usually means redeeming the code, which uses it up. In that case the receipt and the card's source are all you have to go on, which is one more reason not to accept cards from strangers.

Red flags in the deal itself

Sometimes the card is fine and the story isn't. Be careful when:

• someone you've never met wants to pay for goods with gift cards, especially from abroad;
• they offer more than your price and ask for the difference back in naira;
• they're in a hurry and need you to send the goods tonight;
• the cards are cheap, like a "$200 card for ₦150,000";
• they won't send a receipt or the purchase email, and say "just check it";
• the payment is split across several small cards from different stores.

These are all patterns from common gift card scams in Nigeria. And if a card you've already accepted comes back as used, see what to do when a gift card says already redeemed.

What Chiamaka did

Chiamaka asked for a bank transfer instead, to be confirmed in the banking app before the wig left the shop. The buyer stopped replying.

That's often how these stories end. Honest buyers abroad have other ways to pay, and they don't mind you checking.

If you're the one selling a card

Only sell cards you can explain: ones you bought yourself, or that someone you know gave you as a genuine gift. Check the balance, keep the receipt or purchase email, and note the card's country and whether it's a physical card or an e-code.

On KWIQ, the app shows the card types it accepts and their rates, so you can pick the type that matches your card exactly. The gift card rate calculator gives you a quick naira estimate first, and the sell gift cards page lists every card KWIQ buys.

Got a card you know is genuine? Download the KWIQ app, choose your exact card type and see the rate before you submit. If storage is tight on your phone, you can create a free account on the web instead.