Lottery scams: you can't win one you never entered

Editorially reviewed · Last updated July 24, 2026

Yes — this is a scam. You can't win a lottery you never entered — and a real prize never costs money to claim.

Text Message · Today 11:26 AM

from +1 (804) 555-0117

FINAL NOTICE: Your mobile number has been selected as a $2,500,000.00 winner in the National Sweepstakes Bureau quarterly draw. To release your winnings you must pay the $499 processing fee within 48 hours. Reply CLAIM or call our claims agent now.

The Text message, as received

Other versions you might get: A call from a “claims agent,” a letter with a check to “cover the fees,” an email about a foreign lottery, a text that you won an iPad or a car from a local dealership, or a social-media message about a gift card. Different prizes, same trap: pay first, or hand over your details.

Know the signs

Prize and lottery scams all run on one hook: you “won” something — usually something you never entered — and there's one small step between you and the money. That step is the scam: a fee, a “tax,” or a form asking for your bank details.

What to watch for

If you have to pay to get a prize, it's a scam. If you have to pay to boost your odds, it's a scam. If you have to hand over financial or personal information, it's a scam — the FTC's three signs, and any one of them settles it
The message makes you feel like the only winner, but the identical text, call, email, or letter went to lots of people — search the exact wording and see who else got it
You're pushed to pay a specific way — wire transfer, a payment app, gift cards, or crypto — because those payments are hard to trace and hard to get back

The one rule: Never pay to collect a prize, and never share bank or Social Security details to claim one. If money has to flow toward them before it flows to you, delete the message.

What to do right now

Don't respond and don't click any links — prize messages by text, email, or social media can carry links that download malware onto your device.
Never pay a fee to claim a prize. Not “taxes,” not shipping, not processing — the FTC is unambiguous: real prizes are free, and only a scammer asks you to pay.
Never give bank, card, or Social Security details to claim a prize. If a scammer already has them, go to IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan.
Report it. File at reportfraud.ftc.gov and tell your state attorney general. If the prize notice came in the mail, also report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report.
If you already paid, act fast. Contact your bank, card issuer, gift-card company, or wire service immediately and ask them to reverse or freeze the payment — the sooner you move, the better your odds.

How to make sure it never bites you

Prize lists are bought, sold, and reused — answering one fake win invites the next wave. Cut what reaches you and learn the checks that make every “you won” message bounce off — see how to protect yourself.

Untrappable · Public service advisory

Stop the next one at the source

You got this because your details are on lists that get bought, sold, and leaked. You can't unspill that, but you can make it useless to a scammer. Start with the free steps — they do most of the work.

Freeze your credit — free at all three bureausStops anyone opening a new account in your name. Unfreeze in minutes when you need to.
Report it and get a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.govThe FTC walks you through exactly what to do next, for free.

Optional — if you'd rather it was handled for you

If you'd rather have it watched for you, an identity-protection service monitors your accounts, SSN, and the dark web, warns you the moment something new appears, and helps you recover if someone gets through.

See identity protection →

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Frequently asked

How can I tell if a lottery or sweepstakes win is a scam?

Use the FTC's three signs, in order: if you have to pay to get your prize, it's a scam — real prizes are free; if you have to pay to increase your odds of winning, it's a scam — it's actually illegal to ask; and if you have to give your bank account, card number, or Social Security number to claim it, it's a scam — there's no reason a real prize ever needs those. Any one sign is enough. A real win from a real sweepstakes costs you nothing and asks for nothing.

I got a message saying I won a lottery I never entered — is that possible?

No. You can't win a contest you never entered, and the “you're our lucky winner” framing is manufactured: the FTC notes the same text, call, email, or letter goes out to lots of people at once, even though it's written to make you feel singled out. Don't respond and don't click any links — messages like these can download malware onto your device. Delete it, and if it came by mail, check the postmark: a bulk-rate stamp means thousands got the same “exclusive” notice.

What is a foreign lottery scam?

A message saying you won — or can buy tickets for — a lottery in another country. The FTC's guidance is blunt: messages about a foreign lottery are almost certainly from a scammer, and it's illegal for U.S. citizens to play a foreign lottery in the first place, so don't trust anyone asking you to break the law. There's a second cost, too: respond once and expect many more fake-lottery and “opportunity” offers, because reply lists get resold to other scammers.

They sent me a real-looking check and asked me to send some money back — what's the catch?

The check is fake, and the catch is timing. When you deposit it, your bank has to make the funds available before it can confirm the check is good — so the money looks real in your account. You wire back the “taxes” or “fees,” and weeks later the check bounces and the bank takes the full amount back out of your money. The FTC flags this exact move in prize scams. If this is where you are, see our fake check scam page for the recovery steps.

How do I report a lottery scam?

Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov — that's the front door for prize and lottery scams — and to your state attorney general. If the notice arrived by mail, also report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report: running a prize scam through the mail is a federal crime. And if you gave a scammer personal information like your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov for a step-by-step recovery plan.

Sources

Fake Prize, Sweepstakes, and Lottery Scams— Federal Trade Commission
Report mail fraud and prize scams sent by mail— U.S. Postal Inspection Service

A public service

Help protect someone else

Scams spread because people stay quiet about them. If this could have fooled you, it can fool someone you know — a parent, a friend, the family group chat. Passing it on is the easiest good thing you'll do today. It's safe to forward, and stands on its own as a record for a bank or the police.