What it is
A gift-card scam is any fraud where the payment demanded is gift-card codes rather than normal money. The codes work like cash, move instantly, and cannot be traced or reversed, which is exactly why scammers ask for them.
How it reaches you
In a job, it arrives after an easy hire and a move to a chat app. A "manager" asks you to buy cards for work software, a vendor, or a test, and to send photos of the numbers, with a promise to reimburse you. See a job asked me to buy gift cards.
The tell
No legitimate employer, IT department, or payroll team is paid in gift cards. The request itself is proof of a scam, no matter how real the company name looks.
What to do
Do not buy the cards or share any codes. If you already sent them, call the card issuer right away to report the codes as used in a scam, then report it to the FTC. This is a close relative of the advance-fee scam.