Unexpected prize lottery scams work by asking you to pay some sort of fee in order to claim your prize or winnings from a competition or lottery you never entered
The prize you have ‘won’ could be anything from a tropical holiday to electronic equipment such as a laptop or a smartphone, or even money from an international lottery. To claim your prize, you will be asked to pay a fee. Scammers will often say these fees are for insurance costs, government taxes, bank fees or courier charges. The scammers make money by continually collecting these fees from you and stalling the payment of your winnings.
Lottery scams may use the names of legitimate overseas lotteries (often Spanish lotteries), so that if you do some superficial research, the scam will seem real. Some examples of the real Spanish lotteries that the scammers falsely use are Loteria Primitiva and El Gordo. You may also be asked to provide personal details to prove that you are the correct winner and to give your bank account details so the prize can be sent to you.
A newer version of unexpected prize lottery scams involves scammers gaining access to someone’s social media account and contacting extended family members (such as aunts or cousins), claiming they have all won money. The scammer then provides an email address where they will receive instructions on how to claim their prize. This variation is particularly dangerous as it exploits trust between family members to successfully scam people out of their money.
