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When the owner seems to want gift cards
Why a sudden gift-card request is a common small-business scam, and what to do instead.
Gift-card scams are short on purpose. A message, sometimes a text, says the owner is in a meeting and needs cards for a client. It asks you to buy them now and send the codes. It also asks you not to call, because the meeting cannot be interrupted.
The owner does not buy client gifts this way. Secrecy plus urgency plus a payment that cannot be reversed is the whole scam. Codes are cash. Once they are sent, the money is gone.
Walk over, or call the owner on the number already in your phone. Do not use the number in the message. If you cannot reach them, wait. A real request will still be there after the meeting.
Tell the rest of the front office. These messages often go to more than one person, and the first person who is helpful is the one who pays.
If cards were already bought, call the store with the receipts and tell the owner the same day. Some stores can freeze a card that has not been redeemed. Speed matters more than embarrassment.