What is a prize notification scam?
A prize notification scam informs victims they have won a prize and requests personal information or a payment to claim it. The prize does not exist and the purpose is either to steal money through advance fees or harvest personal details for fraud.
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Explanation
Prize notification scams differ slightly from lottery scams in that they can arrive for any type of supposed prize: a retail draw, a social media competition, a survey reward, a brand anniversary giveaway, or a random selection. The supposed sponsor may be a real company whose name is being used without authorisation, which adds apparent credibility.
The mechanics are consistent with other advance fee fraud: a reference number is provided, a warm letter of congratulation is sent, and then a claims process is introduced that involves fees. Alternatively, the notification directs you to a form that harvests personal information — name, address, date of birth, national ID number — ostensibly for prize fulfilment but actually for identity theft.
Social media prize scams are particularly prevalent. Fake accounts impersonating well-known brands run 'competitions' that require sharing a post, liking a page, or submitting contact details. This simultaneously expands the scammer's reach through social sharing and harvests contact details for future scam targeting.
Legitimate competition winners are notified through channels they actually used to enter, by organisations with verifiable identities, and are never asked for fees to receive their prize. If you did not enter, you cannot have won.
Common red flags
- You are told you have won a prize from a competition you never entered
- A processing fee, tax, or charge is required to release the prize
- The notification asks for personal identification documents before releasing winnings
- The contact email uses a free provider domain rather than a company domain
- Social media competitions requiring you to share widely and provide contact details
- The prize claim expires in an unusually short timeframe
What to do now
- Do not pay any fee to receive a prize
- Do not submit personal documents to unverified contacts
- Search independently for the competition or promotion to verify it exists
- Report fake prize notifications to your fraud authority and the impersonated brand
- If you submitted personal details, monitor your credit file and consider a fraud alert
Frequently asked questions
Could I really have been randomly selected for a prize by a company I use?
Legitimate promotional draws do happen. The key tests are: Did you enter or opt in? Is the prize issuer independently verifiable? Is there any upfront cost? No legitimate prize ever requires a payment from the winner.
What if a real brand's social media account is running the giveaway?
Verify the account is the official verified account for the brand, not an impersonator. Check the account's history and follower count. A legitimate brand giveaway will never ask for payment, your ID documents, or bank details.