Scam season is in full swing, and the Tehama County District Attorney’s Office has noticed a recurring feature in most telephone scams of late, and that’s a demand for gift cards as payment. Gift cards are easy for scam artists to turn into instant income and they’re untraceable. They’re also a red flag for scams because no bank, credit card, utility company, retailer, government agency or other debt collector would ever ask for payment by gift cards.