Is that prize win or lottery notification a scam?
You receive an email, letter, or text announcing that you have won a lottery, sweepstake, competition, or unclaimed inheritance — often a six- or seven-figure sum. To claim it, you must pay a small upfront fee: an administration charge, insurance, a customs clearance cost, or a tax that must be settled before the prize can be released.
This is advance-fee fraud, one of the oldest scams in existence. The fees are the scam. There is no prize, no lottery, no inheritance — only an escalating series of fee requests. Each time you pay, another 'unexpected' charge materialises: a lawyer's fee, a government levy, a bank transfer tax. The money you've already paid is used as leverage to keep you going.
A small but important distinction: real lotteries and competitions exist, and they do occasionally notify winners. The difference is simple — legitimate prizes never require the winner to pay any fee upfront to receive them.
🚩 Red flags to watch for
- ▶You never entered the lottery, competition, or sweepstake. You cannot win a contest you didn't enter.
- ▶An upfront fee of any kind is required before the prize can be released.
- ▶The email arrives from a free webmail address (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo) rather than an official organisation domain.
- ▶The prize notification is vague about which lottery or competition you allegedly won.
- ▶Urgency and secrecy: 'Do not tell anyone — this offer expires in 48 hours.'
- ▶Each payment is followed by a new, unexpected fee that must also be paid.
- ▶Poor English, inconsistent formatting, or a template that looks identical to thousands of other reported scams.
✅ What to do
- 1Do not pay any fee. Legitimate prizes are paid to you — you never pay to receive them.
- 2Do not reply. Replying confirms your address is active and can invite further contact.
- 3If someone you know received this and is considering paying, talk to them directly. The emotional pull of a 'big win' can cloud judgement even for sensible people.
- 4Report to the FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov) in the US, Action Fraud in the UK, or your national fraud authority.
📣 Where to report (by country)
🇺🇸 United States
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Action Fraud
- Police Scotland — call 101
🇦🇺 Australia
🇨🇦 Canada
🌍 Everywhere else
- Contact your local police and your bank immediately
- If money was sent, ask your bank about a recall request — act within hours
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Common questions
Can I really have won a lottery I never entered?
No. This is the core impossibility scammers rely on people glossing over. You cannot win a competition you didn't enter. If you receive such a notification, treat it as fraudulent without exception.
What if I've already paid one fee and they're asking for another?
Stop paying immediately. The additional fees will not end — this is the mechanics of the scam. The money already paid is almost certainly unrecoverable, but stopping now limits further losses. Report to your bank and to your national fraud authority.