How do I spot a fake lottery or prize notification email?

Advance-fee lottery fraud is one of the oldest email scams. The message congratulates you on winning a large prize — often from an international lottery, a brand promotion, or a charity raffle you have no memory of entering. To claim your prize, you are told you must pay a small processing fee, release tax, legal fee, or courier charge. Once paid, a new fee appears. The prize never arrives.

The 'brand promotion' variant impersonates well-known companies — Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Apple — claiming they selected your email address in a promotional draw. A related form uses a 'Google Lottery' or 'UN Lottery' premise. None of these run such promotions.

There are also prize emails that harvest personal information rather than fees. You are asked to confirm your identity to claim the prize, providing your date of birth, National Insurance number, bank account, and passport scan. These are used for identity fraud.

Legitimate lotteries you did not enter do not pay prizes. Real brand promotions are advertised publicly, require entry, and do not contact winners by unsolicited email requesting fees. If you genuinely believe you may have won a competition you entered, contact the organiser through their official website — never through contact details in a prize email.