Lottery & Sweepstakes Scams: Warning Signs to Watch Out For
Lotteries and sweepstakes are popular because although the odds are long, someone has to win, right? The problem is con artists use the appeal of lotteries and sweepstakes to gain access to your data and money.
The digital world has made it easier than ever for scammers to reach large numbers of people with their messages and false claims. However, just as with traditional scams, there are ways to detect electronic lottery fraud and protect your identity and your money. Here is a guide to some of the more common lottery and sweepstakes scams in circulation and how you can protect yourself against these crimes.
What are lottery and sweepstakes scams?
Lotteries and sweepstakes are similar in that participants are trying to win a prize, usually money. But lotteries generally are run by government or charitable organizations, whereas sweepstakes are run by businesses promoting themselves. Lotteries often require a fee to enter, such as buying a ticket. Sweepstakes may be free to enter though can require a purchase of merchandise to partake. A good bit of luck is needed for both formats as winners are selected at random in fair and legal contests.
Scammers trick you into thinking you’ve won a big prize in a fake contest. In most cases, the scammers will ask for money, personal information and other valuable material from you, claiming it’s necessary to receive your prize. Volunteering your personal data makes life easy for imposters and an ordeal for you.
Top 5 warning signs of a lottery scam
There are some key warning signs to watch out for when determining if you’re the target of a lottery or sweepstakes scam. When you receive any kind of notification regarding winning a lottery or sweepstakes, take the time to read it carefully. This can help you spot red flags and protect yourself from being conned.
1. You never bought a lottery ticket or entered the sweepstakes
To win a lottery or sweepstakes, you must actually enter! Legitimate lotteries and sweepstakes reveal all terms and conditions for winning the prize. Additionally, when you buy a lottery ticket, you usually will need to check local reports for the winning numbers as the lottery agency will not reach out to you.
Typically, you do not give lottery ticket vendors your email address or other contact information. When you enter a sweepstakes, you probably will remember doing so. If you receive direct mail or email about an international lottery from a country you did not visit, this is a sure sign of a scam.
2. Demanding advanced payment to receive your prize
One of the most common lottery scams starts with you receiving an email or a letter where the scammer tells you that you must pay a fee of some kind to release your winnings. They might call this a tax, a customs fee, a shipping or service cost or an undefined “withholding.” In many cases, they will ask you to pay this fee via a wire transfer, an immediate money transfer service like Western Union, a Bitcoin ATM or with prepaid gift and debit cards.
Legitimate sweepstakes and lotteries will not ask you for money to receive your prize. They also will not ask you to send money using transfer methods meant for people who know each other well. Western Union and other money transfer services allow people to send money quickly and easily to people they know and trust. Taxes on legitimate sweepstakes winnings are typically deducted from your prize. You will not need to send an advance fee to win a legitimate contest.
3. Generic information used
When you enter a sweepstakes, you typically provide your full name, mailing address, email address and phone number. If the email or letter addresses you as “sir,” “madam” or anything other than your name, watch out! A legitimate sweepstakes that you entered would know who you are.
In addition, if they say they are from a major lottery, government agency or company but are using a free email, this is a sign of a scammer.
4. Unsolicited or dubious checks sent to you
If you receive an unsolicited or dubious check in the mail, especially for a large sum of money, stay cautious. While many legitimate lotteries or sweepstakes pay out via check, you will typically have official interactions with the company or agency before receiving a check. Criminals running a fake check scheme often ask you to forward a significant amount of money from the check to a third party after depositing it. Again, the scammer may claim this is for some kind of tax or fee.
However, the check is fake. And if your bank usually clears checks within a day or two, the money will be gone before your bank informs you that the check was illegitimate. You could be out the amount of the check and the money you sent to the scammer or their agents.
5. Demanding that you hurry to respond to them
Scammers don’t want you to take the time to consider their offers and determine whether they are real or fraudulent. A real lottery or sweepstakes will wait for you to claim your prize. If there is a deadline to claim a prize, it will be publicly stated on the entry materials. In many cases, people have months or a year to claim a lottery win. However, scammers will demand you quickly turn over private information or identification, like a copy of your passport and your credit card details, typically in an unsecured email or message. They will urge you to quickly send them a money transfer or go to a cryptocurrency ATM to send them funds.
Lottery agencies and sweepstakes companies do not demand payment at all, and never through cryptocurrency or gift cards. This is a ploy to pressure you into giving the scammers what they want without taking time to think about the legitimacy of the lottery or sweepstakes they’re promoting.
The top 7 ways scammers reach their victims
Most lottery scams arrive via email or direct mail, but scammers use a variety of tactics to reach you. Here are the seven most common types of contact that sweepstakes scams use.
1. Email phishing
In this scam, you receive an unsolicited email announcing that you won the lottery. Usually, the email will impersonate a government agency, well-known company or sweepstakes agency. It may make up a fake name like “National Lottery Winning Agency.” These emails will use the wrong domain, come from free accounts and appear unprofessional, although a professional appearance is not a guarantee of legitimacy. The emails will soon ask for money or private information via an unsecured form of communication.
2. Direct mailings
Some scammers send physical letters to your home, with forged logos and signatures, to look more legitimate than email solicitations. These will demand money or private information or contain a fake check. Again, they may refer to a nonexistent or fake lottery or sweepstakes agency. One warning sign—criminals use bulk mail while real sweepstakes notifications normally arrive by first-class mail. Of course, you may also receive solicitations to enter real sweepstakes and giveaways via bulk mail.
3. Social media messages
Scammers may send you direct messages on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok or other social media accounts. They may respond to posts on YouTube impersonating creators to tell you that you won a giveaway. Once again, they will quickly try to move the conversation to a demand for money or private financial information.
4. Fake social media profiles
Similarly, scammers may make fake profiles or hack legitimate profiles on major social media, video hosting and similar websites to mimic real lotteries or sweepstakes. They might imitate content creators who run giveaways. Watch out for profiles that suddenly post different content or have a far smaller number of followers than the legitimate site.
5. Phone calls
Phone calls are still among the most common tools used by scammers. You may receive a call from someone claiming to represent a lottery or sweepstakes. They will demand that you quickly transfer or wire them money, purchase gift cards or go to a Bitcoin ATM to send them a fee to release your winnings. They will try to keep you on the phone, not allow you to speak to family members or employees at a money transfer office or bank, and demand that you act right away. Legitimate lotteries will always allow you to call them back later.
6. SMS, text or WhatsApp messages
You may receive SMS or WhatsApp messages from scammers claiming that you have won a lottery and must fill out a form on a website. In most cases, this is a fake phishing website that wants to extract personal information from you. As it is imitating another website, it may ask for your email or social media logins and passwords or those for your online banking or PayPal account.
7. Website pop-up ads
Be wary of malicious ads that can make their way into an ad network to redirect you to a phishing site. Other websites may be set up to announce that you have “won a prize” for visiting the website and then ask for money, a purchase or personal information. You will not win a sweepstakes through a pop-up ad.
Avoiding sweepstakes scams
These are some of the most common warning signs of lottery scams as well as the most frequent forms of contact used by sweepstakes scammers. However, you can always learn more about how to #BeFraudSmart when entering a sweepstakes or responding to any request for information. Find out about different types of scams and how to avoid them by learning more at www.westernunion.com/fraudawareness.
Have you been a victim of a sweepstakes scam?
If you think you’ve been a victim of a lottery or sweepstakes scam that asked for a payment via Western Union, contact Western Union’s Fraud Hotline. Call the number for your country to report a scam or visit your local Western Union office.
