Advance-Fee Scams via Skrill
How inheritance and prize fraudsters targeting European and Middle Eastern Skrill users collect sequential fees for a payout that never arrives.
Part of: Advance Fee Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Advance-fee fraud targeting Skrill users is tailored to the platform's user base: online gamers, sports bettors, and international freelancers across Europe and the Middle East who already maintain Skrill wallets and are accustomed to making and receiving cross-border digital payments. Fraudsters construct narratives around unclaimed gaming winnings, international prize draws, or dormant estates that require a series of Skrill payments to 'release'.
Because Skrill users associate the platform with real monetary flows, the payment request feels less suspicious than it might on a less familiar service.
How this scam works on Skrill
A victim receives an email, forum message, or social media notification claiming they are the unclaimed beneficiary of a gaming jackpot, a deceased estate, or an international prize fund. A Skrill payment — typically modest — is required to cover the release fee, an international compliance charge, or a security bond. The contact provides a Skrill email address and references the recipient's established account as evidence that Skrill is the appropriate channel.
After each payment, a new release condition appears. Some operations stretch across weeks, with the promise amount growing at each stage to justify the escalating fees. The promised payment never materialises.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited notification of unclaimed winnings, inheritance, or prize via email or social media
- Skrill payment required before the larger sum can be transferred
- Contact knows you have a Skrill account and uses this to normalise the payment request
- Each Skrill payment resolves one administrative barrier and immediately creates another
- Documentation is provided on official-looking letterhead from a free-domain email address
- Instruction to keep the arrangement confidential until collection is complete
How to protect yourself
- No legitimate prize, inheritance, or gaming payout requires advance Skrill payments
- Verify any prize or inheritance claim through the stated organisation's official contact channels, not the contact information in the notification
- Stop all Skrill payments immediately if you have already paid — additional fees will not unlock any real funds
- Report the Skrill email address used to collect fees to Skrill's fraud team
- Consult a solicitor independently before acting on any inheritance claim, however official it appears
How to report it
- Report to Skrill's fraud team at skrill.com/en/siteinformation/contact with all Skrill email addresses and transaction IDs
- File with Action Fraud (UK) at actionfraud.police.uk or your national fraud authority with full correspondence
- Report the originating email to your national cybercrime reporting centre
Frequently asked questions
The message references my actual Skrill account — does that mean it came from Skrill itself?
No — knowing that you hold a Skrill account, for example from a data breach or a gaming forum profile, does not mean the message originates from Skrill or any legitimate organisation. Genuine winnings or payouts are accessed by logging into your own account directly, not through an external notification.
Why do these scams often stretch out over several weeks with a growing promised amount?
Extending the timeline and increasing the promised payout keeps victims emotionally invested and justifies each new fee as reasonable relative to the "growing" reward, making it psychologically harder to walk away as more has already been paid. Recognising this pattern early — before multiple payments accumulate — is the most effective way to limit losses.
Should I trust documentation on official-looking letterhead sent with these claims?
No — professional-looking letterhead is easy to produce and is a standard prop used to add false credibility to these narratives. Verify any claimed organisation through independent means — their own official website and registered contact channels — rather than trusting the letterhead itself.
Are there any legitimate gaming or lottery jackpots paid via Skrill?
Yes — licensed online gaming platforms do pay winnings via Skrill. The difference is that payments come directly from your account balance on the verified platform you hold; you are never contacted out of the blue and asked to pay fees in advance. If you believe you have a genuine balance on a licensed platform, access it through the platform's official website using your credentials — never through an email or message instruction.