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Lottery & Sweepstakes Mail Scams

If you have to pay to collect a "prize," there is no prize.

A letter arrives saying you won a lottery, a sweepstakes, or a foreign inheritance, often with official-looking seals and stamps. To collect, you just need to pay a "processing fee," "taxes," or "customs charges" first. Some letters even include a real-looking check: you deposit it, send back a portion of the money, and days later the bank tells you the check was fake, and the money you sent came out of your own account. Remember: you cannot win a lottery you never entered, and legitimate prizes never require payment up front.

Watch: how this scam works

Published by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service · 1:54 Open the original

Warning signs

  • You "won" a lottery or sweepstakes you never entered, often a foreign one (Spanish, Canadian, Australian lottery).
  • You must pay a fee, taxes, or shipping before receiving the prize.
  • The letter includes a check and instructions to deposit it and send part of the money back.
  • You are told to keep the winnings confidential until the money is "processed."
  • They ask you to respond quickly and pay by gift card, wire transfer, or money order.
  • The letter claims a distant relative or a dying stranger overseas left you a large inheritance.

How to protect yourself

  • Real lotteries and sweepstakes never ask winners to pay anything. Taxes on real winnings are handled after you receive the money, through the IRS, not by wiring cash to a stranger.
  • Never deposit a check from someone you do not know, and never send money back from a deposited check. Banks can take weeks to discover a fake.
  • If you did not enter, you did not win. Throw the letter away, or better, keep it and report it.
  • Do not call the phone number in the letter, even out of curiosity. Responding marks you as a target for more scam mail.
  • Check on older family members' mail. These letters heavily target seniors, and one response brings many more letters.

If it happened to you

  1. If you deposited a check, call your bank immediately. Do not spend or send any of that money, and ask the bank what to do next.
  2. If you already sent money, contact your bank or the wire service (Western Union, MoneyGram) right away to try to stop or recall the payment.
  3. Keep the letter, envelope, and check. The envelope's postmark helps postal inspectors track the senders.
  4. Report it even if you only lost a little or nothing at all. Every report helps investigators shut these mailings down.

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