Fake Lottery Win Letter Script
A letter, email, or text announces that you've won a large lottery or sweepstakes prize — often one you don't recall entering — and asks for an upfront "processing fee," "tax," or "insurance" payment before the winnings can be released. No legitimate lottery requires a winner to pay money upfront to receive a prize; taxes, if any, are normally deducted from the winnings themselves. The lever is excitement over unexpected good fortune, which the scammer escalates into a series of fees once the first is paid, always with a new prize-sized amount just out of reach. The most important step is to never send money to claim a prize, no matter how official the paperwork looks.
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Sanitized example messages
Illustrative, sanitized examples. Personal details are replaced with placeholders such as [phone number] and [fake link].
Congratulations! Your email address has been selected in the [lottery name] international draw. You have won [amount].
To release your winnings, a processing and administrative fee of [amount] is required. This is fully refundable from your prize.
Your claim reference is [code]. Keep this confidential until your winnings clear. Contact our agent at [phone number] / [email].
Your prize expires in [number] days if unclaimed. Act now to avoid forfeiture.
What the scammer wants
To extract an upfront fee — or a series of escalating fees for 'taxes', 'insurance', and 'courier' — from you, with no prize ever paid. The 'winnings' exist only to make the fee feel like a worthwhile investment.
Red flags in the message
- You won a lottery you never entered
- Upfront payment required to release the prize
- Request to keep the win confidential
- Claim reference number with no verifiable public draw
- Fees escalate — tax, insurance, courier, customs — before the prize appears
- Contact is a personal email address or non-official number
- Urgency — prize expires in days
A safe response
Discard the message. You cannot win a lottery you did not enter, and legitimate prizes are never paid after upfront fees. Do not reply, call the number, or pay anything.
What not to send
- Processing or administration fees
- Tax or insurance payments
- Personal identification documents
What to do if you already replied
- Stop all payments immediately — more fees will follow
- If you shared bank details, call your bank to flag the account
- Report the message to your national fraud authority
- Be alert to follow-up recovery scams targeting prior lottery victims
Evidence to preserve
- Screenshot the full message or call details
- Note the sender number, email, or profile
- Save any links (without clicking) and payment details
- Record dates and times
Frequently asked questions
They quoted a real lottery or company name I recognise — could it still be a scam?
Yes, scammers routinely use the names of real, well-known lotteries or sweepstakes to appear credible, but you cannot win a prize draw you never entered. Contact the real organisation directly through its official website to check, rather than replying to the letter or email.
I already paid a small processing fee — should I pay the next fee they're asking for to finally get my prize?
No, paying more will not release any prize since there isn't one; this pattern of escalating fees is designed to keep extracting money for as long as you're willing to pay. Stop paying immediately.
Can I get back the fee I already paid?
This may depend on the payment method used — contact your bank or card issuer to ask about disputing the charge, and report the scam to your local consumer-protection agency or postal inspection service if it arrived by mail.
How do real lotteries notify winners, so I can tell the difference?
Legitimate lotteries do not contact winners out of the blue for prizes they didn't knowingly enter, and never require any payment to release winnings — any fees or taxes owed on genuine winnings are typically deducted automatically or handled during an in-person claims process.