How it works
Here is the big idea: nobody real asks you to pay in gift cards. They are made for presents, not for paying bills or fixing tablets.
Scammers love them because the number on the back works like cash. Anyone who has the number can spend it straight away, and the money is very hard to get back.
Look for three signs: gift cards, a hurry ("within the hour") and a secret ("do not tell anyone"). A hurry stops you from asking, and a secret means no grown-up can say, wait.
A message can use a real name, but that does not make it real.