FraudScope // Threat Library // Lottery and prize scam
Scam type // Prizes
Lottery and prize scams
A call, text, or letter says you won a lottery, sweepstakes, or prize, but you must pay a fee, tax, or shipping cost to collect it. Legitimate prizes never require an upfront payment. Here is how the advance-fee trick works.
What it is
A prize that costs you money
Prize scams tell you that you have won something valuable: a lottery, a sweepstakes, a car, or a cash prize. The excitement is the setup. To collect, you are told you must first pay taxes, processing fees, or shipping.
There is no prize. Once you pay the first fee, more appear, each promising the winnings are just one payment away. Real lotteries and sweepstakes never require you to pay to receive what you have won.
The playbook
How the scam works
Announce a big win
You won a lottery or sweepstakes, often one you never entered.
Add a catch
To release the prize you must pay a tax, fee, or shipping cost first.
Request odd payment
Gift cards, wire transfer, or crypto, and sometimes your bank details "for the deposit."
Keep collecting
After the first payment, new fees appear. The prize never arrives.
In their words
What it looks like
Red flags
Warning signs to watch for
- You "won" a lottery or contest you never entered.
- You must pay a fee, tax, or shipping cost before receiving the prize.
- Payment is requested by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.
- You are asked for bank details "to deposit" the winnings.
- Urgency and secrecy: claim now or lose it, and do not tell anyone.
How FraudScope helps
Pop the balloon safely
Paste the message and FraudScope identifies the advance-fee prize scam, names the upfront-payment and urgency tactics, and reminds you of the simple rule: real winnings never cost you money to collect.
Analysis runs entirely on your iPhone and makes no network requests. The only time FraudScope touches the internet is if you tap Inspect URL to check where a link really goes, and it tells you before it does.
Questions
Frequently asked
I never entered a lottery. How did I win?
You did not. Claiming you won a contest you never entered is a core feature of the scam. Legitimate lotteries require you to buy a ticket and never notify winners by surprise text demanding a fee.
Do real prizes ever require an upfront payment?
No. Legitimate sweepstakes and lotteries deduct any taxes from the winnings or have you handle them with tax authorities directly. They never ask you to pay a fee, especially by gift card or wire, to release a prize.
Does FraudScope send my messages anywhere?
No. Analysis runs entirely on your iPhone with no network connection. The only time it contacts the internet is if you choose to inspect a link’s destination, and it tells you before it does.
Will FraudScope catch every scam?
No tool can. FraudScope is strongest with the full content of a message and weaker with a bare screenshot that has no link or sender. It is a powerful second opinion, not a guarantee. When in doubt, slow down and check with someone you trust.
Read the scam before it reads you
FraudScope explains what a suspicious message is really trying to do, entirely on your iPhone. Now available on the App Store.