Foreign Lottery Scams in Botswana
How fake foreign lottery notifications target Batswana with prize claims requiring upfront fees to release winnings.
Part of: Foreign Lottery Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Foreign lottery scams tell Batswana they have won substantial sums in overseas draws — UK National Lottery, Euro Millions, or US sweepstakes — they never entered. The prize is always contingent on paying a series of fees: taxes, legal clearance, or courier charges. The payment never unlocks any prize; it simply generates the next demand.
Botswana's relatively high literacy and smartphone penetration make email and SMS-based lottery scams accessible to a wide population. Scammers often reference Botswana's economic stability in their narrative, suggesting the country's citizens were specifically selected.
How this scam works on Botswana
A Motswana receives an email or SMS from an organisation claiming to administer a foreign lottery. The message states a specific prize amount has been allocated. To claim it, the recipient must provide personal details and pay an initial processing fee.
Each payment leads to a new requirement. By the time the victim recognises the pattern, multiple payments may have been made. In some variants, the scammer impersonates a real lottery's website — slightly misspelling the domain — and creates convincing-looking prize certificates.
Common red flags
- Prize notification from a lottery you never entered
- Fee required to release winnings — labelled as tax, insurance, processing, or courier
- Contact details do not match the official website of the named lottery organisation
- Instructions to keep the win secret until funds are received
- Pressure to respond quickly or forfeit the prize
How to protect yourself
- You cannot win a lottery you never entered — discard all such messages
- Verify any claimed lottery independently using the official URL, not links in the message
- Legitimate lotteries deduct taxes from winnings; they never require separate upfront payments
- Do not provide passport or ID details to claim an unsolicited prize
- Report the message to protect others from receiving it
How to report it
- Report to the Botswana Police Service with all messages and sender details
- Report to the Consumer Protection Unit if a known brand was impersonated
- Alert your mobile carrier to the sending number for investigation
Frequently asked questions
Why do lottery scammers claim Botswana citizens were 'specially selected'?
Personalisation makes the offer feel exclusive and credible. Scammers insert the recipient's country name, and sometimes their name, to make a mass-produced fraudulent message feel targeted. This is a standard technique and carries no actual meaning — the same message is sent to thousands of people in multiple countries.