Is an email saying I won a foreign lottery I never entered real?
No. You cannot win a lottery you never entered. This is an advance fee fraud using a lottery as cover.
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Explanation
Foreign lottery scam emails — often claiming to be from a Spanish El Gordo draw, a Dutch Postcode Lottery, or a UK National Lottery prize committee — inform you that your email address was randomly selected in a prize draw and you have won a large sum. To claim your prize, you must contact a claims agent and pay a fee for processing, tax clearance, or legal documentation. Each payment leads to a request for another. The prize never exists. No legitimate lottery selects winners by randomly drawing email addresses — you must purchase a ticket. If you receive such an email, mark it as spam and do not respond.
Common red flags
- You won a lottery you never entered or purchased a ticket for
- Contact a 'claims agent' by a specific email to begin the process
- Processing fee, tax clearance, or legal fee required before prize is released
- Email address is the entry mechanism — no ticket number referenced
- Email has grammatical errors despite claiming to be from an official lottery body
What to do now
- Do not respond or pay any fee
- Mark the email as phishing or spam
- Report to your national fraud authority if you have already sent money
Frequently asked questions
What if the email mentions a real lottery like El Gordo?
Criminals use real lottery names to add credibility. El Gordo and the UK National Lottery do not conduct prize draws by email address. The use of a real name does not mean the email is genuine.