In the US, gift cards seem to be popular with consumers.
I regularly see people in line at the supermarket, buying gift cards. I notice, because it’s a discrete workflow, that stands out.
I doubt they are all feeding scammers.
I think that charities often solicit gift cards.
I'm sure they're not all scammers, but what's the upside to the consumer? Why not just give the money directly? Seems to me like all the upside is on the company, and all the risk is on the user.