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If someone says you won a sweepstakes prize but must pay a fee, buy something to improve your odds, or hand over sensitive information, stop. The Federal Trade Commission’s rule is direct: “If you have to pay to get your prize, it’s a scam.” Don’t reply, click links, or use contact details in the message. Verify the promotion independently; if you already paid or shared information, act promptly and report it.
What a sweepstakes scam looks like
A scammer may contact you by phone, text, email, social media, or mail with news that you have won cash or a valuable item. You may not remember entering. The sender might borrow a company’s name or claim government involvement, then invent a hurdle: taxes, processing, shipping, customs, account verification, or a deadline. The goal is to get money or sensitive information.
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The FTC says the government will not call demanding payment to collect a prize, and no real sweepstakes company will contact a winner asking for money to claim it. In a March 10, 2026 alert, the FTC warned that an unexpected call about a contest you did not enter is especially likely to be a scam. Read the FTC alert.
Warning signs to check before you respond
- An advance fee: You are told to pay taxes, shipping and handling, processing fees, customs duties, or another charge before receiving the prize. A real sweepstakes is free, and paying to claim a prize is a scam signal.
- Payment to improve your odds: You are asked to pay or buy something to increase your chance of winning. Legitimate sweepstakes are free to enter and based on chance.
- A request for sensitive information: The sender wants your bank-account or credit-card number, Social Security number, or other personal information as a condition of claiming. The FTC says there is no reason to provide a bank or credit-card number or Social Security number to claim a prize.
- Pressure or threats: You must act immediately or lose the prize. Urgency is not proof that the offer is genuine.
- Unusual payment instructions: You are told to send gift cards, a wire transfer, a payment-app transfer, cash, or cryptocurrency. These methods can be difficult to trace or recover.
- A check-and-return scheme: You receive a check, are told to deposit it, then asked to send part of the money back. A bank may show funds as available before discovering the check is fake; you can be held responsible for the money sent.
- A familiar name or official-looking message: Branding, an official-sounding identity, and caller ID do not prove who contacted you. Impersonators can use recognizable names and spoof caller ID.
- An unsolicited link: A message promises a gift card, discount, or prize through a link. The FTC warns that clicking may expose you to malware; do not click or respond.
For the FTC’s complete consumer guidance, see Fake Prize, Sweepstakes, and Lottery Scams.
How to verify a promotion safely
- Pause. Do not pay, share information, click a link, or call a number supplied in the notification.
- Find the organizer’s contact details independently. Use its real website or another reliable source you locate yourself, not the sender’s link, callback number, or contact information.
- Ask the organizer directly. Check whether the promotion and notification are genuine, and whether you entered. Do not treat a familiar name or caller ID as verification.
- Search for complaints. Search the company or contest name with terms such as “review,” “complaint,” or “scam.” Search results can help flag concerns, but they do not guarantee that an offer is legitimate.
- Check the promotion’s rules and disclosures. A legitimate sweepstakes is free to enter, with winners chosen by chance. The FTC says promoters calling consumers must disclose that entry is free, the prizes and their value, odds of winning, and how to redeem a prize. Those disclosures apply to the FTC guidance on promoters calling consumers; they should not be treated as a complete description of requirements for every promotion type or jurisdiction.
If you already replied, paid, or shared information
- Stop communicating. Send no more money or information. Do not pay a supposed fee to recover a prize or undo a payment.
- If you deposited a check and returned money, contact your bank promptly. Explain that the check may be fraudulent; apparent availability of funds does not mean the check has cleared.
- Contact the bank, card issuer, or payment service you used. Ask what steps are available for that transaction. The FTC advises acting as soon as possible after paying, but recovery is not guaranteed.
- If your personal information was misused, follow the recovery steps at IdentityTheft.gov.
- Report the incident. Submit a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC also recommends contacting your state attorney general and local consumer-protection office. If the promotion arrived by mail, report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
- Warn people close to you. Share what happened so friends or family can recognize similar messages.
How widespread are reported sweepstakes losses?
AARP reported that consumers reported $145 million in losses to prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams in 2024, attributing the figure to FTC data. AARP said the amount was more than $18 million higher than the prior year. These are reported losses, not a total of every victim’s losses or a measure of any one person’s risk. AARP’s report, updated June 17, 2026, is the source for the figure.
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