Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams: How to Recognize Them
Quick Answer
Prize scams are among the oldest frauds in existence, and they remain effective because the prospect of winning something triggers genuine excitement before rational thinking kicks in. The FTC consistently ranks prize and sweepstakes fraud among the top reported scam categories.
How These Scams Work
The setup is always the same regardless of the delivery method:
- You receive a notification, by phone, mail, email, or text, that you have won a prize
- To claim it, you must pay a fee: taxes, processing, customs, insurance, or a "refundable deposit"
- You pay the fee
- Either the prize never arrives, or you are asked to pay additional fees repeatedly before it does
- Eventually contact stops and your payments are gone
Why the fee exists: Scammers make their money from the fee. There is no prize. The fee is the product.
Common Delivery Methods
Phone calls: A caller claims you won a Publishers Clearing House prize, a vacation, or a cash award. They are enthusiastic and the call feels celebratory. A fee is mentioned near the end of the call.
Mailers: A realistic-looking letter arrives with a check enclosed, often for a small amount like $35. Instructions say to cash the check to activate your prize claim and call a number. The check is fake and calls lead to fee requests.
Texts and emails: You receive notification that you won a drawing from a company you may have shopped with. A link leads to a convincing fake page asking for payment details to process your prize.
Social media: Fake accounts impersonating real brands or celebrities run fake giveaways requiring you to pay shipping or a processing fee to receive your prize.
How to Tell a Real Sweepstakes from a Scam
| Legitimate Sweepstakes | Scam |
|---|---|
| You entered it yourself | You have no memory of entering |
| Winnings are paid to you | You must pay before receiving anything |
| No fees of any kind | Fees for taxes, shipping, processing, customs |
| Contact comes through official channels | Calls from unknown numbers, generic emails |
| You can verify it on the sponsor's official website | No verifiable presence |
The Publishers Clearing House note is worth making explicit: PCH does notify real winners, but always through official prize patrol visits or official mailings. PCH never calls asking for payment to release a prize. Any call claiming to be PCH and asking for money is a scam.
What to Do
Do not pay anything. Do not call back any number given in the notification. If you want to verify whether a sweepstakes is real, look up the company independently and contact them through their official website.
Report to:
- FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov, 1-877-382-4357
- USPIS (if notification arrived by mail): USPIS.gov, 1-877-876-2455