Foreign Lottery Scams in Serbia
Fake European and American lottery prize notifications target Serbian residents with fabricated windfalls requiring upfront fee payments.
Part of: Foreign Lottery Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Foreign lottery fraud has circulated in Serbia for decades, adapting from postal letter formats to email, SMS, Viber, and Facebook. Prize notifications in Serbian claim the recipient has won large sums from EuroMillions, the Spanish national lottery, or fictitious international sweepstakes, and require a processing fee before the prize can be released.
Serbians with relatives abroad, or those participating in online communities touching European culture, are particularly targeted with offers framing the prize as related to EU participation or international business activities — narratives that resonate with Serbia's EU accession aspirations.
How this scam works on Serbia
A Viber message, Facebook post, or email congratulates the recipient on a prize from a foreign lottery. Contact with the 'prize office' results in requests for fees via Revolut, Western Union, or direct bank transfer. Multiple sequential fees are demanded before the prize is finally promised to arrive 'this week' — a cycle that repeats until the victim disengages.
Some operations fabricate European Union institutional lottery branding to exploit Serbia's EU candidacy awareness. Others impersonate the US Green Card Diversity Visa programme, which genuinely receives a substantial number of applications from Serbia each year.
Common red flags
- A prize notification arrives for a lottery or sweepstakes you did not enter.
- Any fee must be paid before the prize is released.
- Communication uses a free email address rather than an official lottery domain.
- Additional fees appear after each payment.
How to protect yourself
- Delete all prize notifications for programmes you did not register for.
- Verify Green Card results only at dvlottery.state.gov.
- Never pay fees to receive any prize — legitimate prizes do not require upfront payments.
- Report to Serbian Police if any payment has been made.
How to report it
- Report to the Serbian Ministry of Interior cybercrime department.
- For Green Card impersonations, report to the US Embassy in Belgrade.
- Contact your bank immediately if payment has been made.
Frequently asked questions
Does Serbia participate in the US Green Card Diversity Visa Lottery?
Yes — Serbian nationals can enter the Diversity Visa programme. However, entry is free and results are checked only at dvlottery.state.gov. Any 'winner notification' requesting payment is fraudulent.