You won a lottery you never entered
Scammers notify victims by mail, email, phone, or text that they have won a lottery or sweepstake and instruct them to pay fees upfront to receive the prize. Paying only leads to escalating fee demands with no prize ever delivered.
What we know
Lottery and prize scams are one of the oldest forms of advance-fee fraud. The core mechanism is consistent: the victim receives an unsolicited notification claiming they have won a large sum of money, a car, a vacation, or electronics, in a contest they never entered. They are told the prize can be released only after paying taxes, processing fees, customs duties, or administration charges. These fees may start small and escalate as the scammer manufactures new obstacles.
Common delivery channels include postal mail with official-looking certificates, email from addresses spoofing publishers clearing houses or lottery authorities, robocalls, and social media messages. Scammers may impersonate real sweepstakes organizations like Publishers Clearing House or government lotteries. They sometimes send a check for a larger amount and ask the victim to keep their prize portion and return the rest, which is the classic fake check scam.
The FTC's three definitive warning signs are: if you have to pay to get your prize, it is a scam; if you have to pay to increase your odds, it is a scam; and if you must provide financial account information, it is a scam. Real prize promoters never contact winners asking for advance payments. U.S. law makes it illegal to require purchase or payment to enter a legitimate sweepstakes.
Common claims
- I have to pay taxes upfront before receiving my lottery winningsFalse - legitimate prizes do not require advance tax payments
- If I won a foreign lottery, I owe customs feesFalse and also illegal - it is a crime for U.S. citizens to participate in foreign lotteries
- Paying a small processing fee is normal to claim a prizeFalse - no legitimate prize requires any upfront payment