Originally Posted by guv1976

"No, the gift cards will be sent to the email address listed in your AAdvantageŽ account. If you choose to gift it to someone else, you will have to forward them the gift card details."

Originally Posted by 1worldFlyer

Now it makes sense why AA told OP they would only restore his miles if the e-mail address was changed. If the gift cards can only be sent to the e-mail address on record and assuming OP is telling the truth that he's the victim of this scam, that would seem to imply that the scammers have or had access to his e-mail account, which is not AA's fault.