Foreign Lottery Scams on Reddit
Scam accounts seed lottery winning stories in popular subreddits to build apparent authenticity and then direct readers to fee-collection sites, or contact commenters privately to solicit participation in advance-fee fraud.
Part of: Foreign Lottery Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Reddit's format allows scammers to build social proof by posting 'winning stories' in relevant communities before pivoting to direct fraud. A post that describes a genuine-seeming experience of receiving a lottery notification and navigating the claim process can attract comments and upvotes that make it appear credible, conditioning readers to believe such events are real before they are contacted with their own notification.
Comment sections are also harvested: users who respond to lottery-related posts with interest or scepticism become targets for DMs offering personalised 'entry opportunities' or insider information about claiming foreign prizes.
How this scam works on Reddit
A post in a personal finance or life advice subreddit describes receiving a foreign lottery notification and successfully claiming the prize after paying an advance fee. The story is detailed enough to appear genuine and includes links to 'information resources' in the comments. Users who engage with the post or follow the links are subsequently contacted by DM with offers to participate in similar draws.
Some operations use Reddit directly as a solicitation channel, posting in appropriate subreddits about 'international investment opportunities' or 'legal lottery participation strategies' that are actually advance-fee fraud in different framing. External links in these posts lead to sites that collect personal details and fees.
Highly upvoted lottery 'success story' posts are sometimes manufactured through coordinated upvoting of legitimate-appearing accounts before the fraudulent pivot takes place.
Common red flags
- Post describes successfully paying advance fees to claim a lottery win — a universal warning sign of advance-fee fraud
- Comment links lead to sites asking for personal details or payment to participate in lottery draws
- DM follows up after you commented on or upvoted a lottery-related post with a personalised offer
- Story cannot be corroborated by any independent source and the posting account has minimal other history
- Post encourages readers to DM for 'more information' rather than providing details publicly
How to protect yourself
- Recognise that no legitimate lottery ever requires an advance fee payment to release winnings
- Do not DM accounts that solicit private contact regarding lottery winnings or opportunities
- Report posts that appear to normalise advance-fee lottery payments to subreddit moderators
- Warn others in the comment section if you identify a lottery scam post before moderators act
- Contact your national consumer protection authority if you have already sent money in response to a lottery notification
How to report it
- Report the post to subreddit moderators for advance-fee fraud promotion
- Report any DM received in connection with the post to Reddit admins using the message report function
- File a report with your national cybercrime authority if money was transferred
Frequently asked questions
Why do some Reddit lottery scam posts appear to have genuine upvotes and positive comments?
Vote manipulation and bot-generated comments are used to make fraudulent posts appear community-endorsed. High upvote counts do not validate a post's content. Always evaluate the specific claims being made rather than relying on engagement metrics as a proxy for credibility.