According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Google Play gift cards made up roughly 20 percent of all reported gift card scams from 2018 to 2021, accumulating over $17 million in reported losses.

Google takes a 15 to 30 percent commission when gift cards are used to make purchases in the Play Store, May's complaint said. In that way, Google allegedly profits off scams while telling ...

Citing FTC data from 2021, May said Google Play cards account for about 20% of gift card scams. The case is May v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-01314.