Kijiji messages that demand Apple Gift Card, Google Play, Steam, Tim Hortons, Walmart, or Vanilla Visa prepaid codes for furniture, a phone, a bike, or a “courier / escrow fee” are fraud scripts. Kijiji’s safety guidance steers people toward local cash meetups and away from irreversible off-platform rails; gift-card PINs are cash once read aloud.
Meetup and off-app cousins: Fake Kijiji meetup scams. Gift-card rulebook: How to avoid gift-card payment scams. Prepaid risks: Gift cards and prepaid debit risks. Broader map: Credit and debt scams.
Common Kijiji gift-card scripts
| Script | Who is targeted | How the money leaves |
|---|---|---|
| Distant buyer will “pay” only with gift cards, then needs you to confirm codes before a courier arrives | Seller | Fake or stolen codes; or you buy more cards for “shipping” |
| Seller refuses cash meetup; Apple / Google Play / Steam codes required first | Buyer | Item never appears; PINs redeemed elsewhere |
| Overpayment + “buy cards for my shipper / inspector” | Seller | Overpayment check bounce plus gift-card extract (Kijiji overpayment scams) |
| Fake “Kijiji guarantee” or escrow site asks gift cards to unlock funds | Either side | Advance-fee theater; no real escrow |
| Rental or job-adjacent ad that needs gift cards for “background check” or “keys” | Would-be renter/worker | Same PIN drain as other advance-fee scams |
Why gift cards show up on Kijiji chats
- Reply accounts are often new profiles or free email addresses that look nothing like a local neighbor.
- Gift-card PINs clear faster than a fake e-transfer or cashier’s-check story and leave fewer bank logs.
- Platform dispute tools do not cover codes you emailed or texted to a stranger.
- Scammers reuse the same template across Kijiji, Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, and OfferUp.
Gumtree gift-card twins: Fake Gumtree gift card scams.
Worked example: the $380 mountain bike
Jordan lists a mountain bike for $380 on Kijiji in Calgary. An email from “Avery Freight” offers $520 via Apple Gift Cards “because the purchasing desk already bought the cards,” asks Jordan to keep $380, and to buy two $70 Google Play cards for the freight broker with the leftover. A PDF “proof of codes” is attached.
Jordan deletes the thread, relists with “local cash only—no gift cards, wires, or Interac for strangers,” and meets a real buyer at a police-station lot. If Jordan had purchased Google Play cards and read the numbers, those codes would have been gone while the “Apple payment” never existed. Banks and card issuers rarely reverse gift-card PIN shares the way they sometimes reverse a disputed Visa or Mastercard charge at RBC, TD, or Chase.
Safer Kijiji habits
- Prefer in-person cash for local goods; meet in a public place or police-station lot for high value.
- Never accept or send gift-card PINs—for the item, for shipping, for escrow, or for “verification.”
- Refuse overpayment stories that end with buying cards for a third party.
- Ignore escrow links and “Kijiji guarantee” sites pitched in email; Kijiji does not run a gift-card escrow desk.
- Sellers: require a local pickup window before discussing payment.
- Buyers: if the seller will not show the item on a video call or in person without codes first, walk away.
If you already shared PINs
- Stop buying more cards; photograph receipts and remaining packaging.
- Call the gift-card brand’s fraud line (Apple, Google, Steam/Valve, retailer) immediately.
- Report the ad and chat through official Kijiji Help / scam channels; save full email headers if you can.
- File ReportFraud.ftc.gov (U.S.) or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre when the deal was Canada-side; get a local police report when you need a case number.
- Do not pay a second “recovery specialist.”
- If account numbers or ID images were shared, monitor accounts and consider bureau freezes at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (or Equifax/TransUnion Canada as applicable).
Checklist
- Memorize: no legitimate Kijiji sale requires gift-card PINs.
- Local deal → local payment; no cards, wires, or crypto ATMs for strangers.
- Treat emailed “code screenshots” as fake until proven otherwise—and still prefer cash.
- Skip any escrow that asks you to buy cards to unlock funds.
- Document ads and chats; report even when you did not pay.
- Teach household members the same rule for Kijiji, Gumtree, and Marketplace.
Educational only. Not legal, banking, or fraud-recovery advice. Platform policies and issuer freeze windows vary; verify payment safety pages on Kijiji and the gift-card brand you used.