You "won" a lottery, gift card or prize you never entered. To claim it you must pay a fee, tax or shipping cost, or hand over personal and banking details. The prize never arrives.
Reviewed by Florian Wartner · Last updated
You are told you have won a large prize, a lottery, or a sweepstakes - often one you never entered. The message arrives by email, text, social media, or phone and sounds exciting and official, sometimes using the name of a famous company or a real lottery.
To claim the winnings, you are asked to pay something first: a processing fee, taxes, customs charges, or insurance. The prize never arrives, and each payment is followed by a new fee until you stop sending money.
The promise of sudden, life-changing money is hard to ignore, and the small fee feels tiny next to the huge prize. Scammers add pressure with deadlines and tell you to keep the win secret so no one talks you out of it.
These offers are sent widely and often target people who are hopeful, lonely, or under financial stress. Once you pay once, you may be marked as responsive and approached again.
The clearest sign is being asked to pay in order to receive a prize. A legitimate prize is never conditional on you sending money first, and real lotteries do not collect taxes or fees through you in advance.
Other red flags include winning a contest you never entered, requests to pay by gift card or wire transfer, pressure to act quickly, and instructions to keep the win confidential.
Treat any win that asks for an upfront payment as a scam and do not send money or share bank or card details. You cannot win a lottery you did not enter, so there is nothing to claim.
If you already paid, contact your bank or the payment service right away to try to stop or reverse the transfer, and keep all messages as evidence. Report the scam to your national consumer protection or fraud authority, and be wary of follow-up offers promising to recover your lost money for a fee.
Congratulations! You have won a free gift in our draw. To claim your prize, pay a small processing fee of EUR 2.
Made-up example - not a real message.
