Sweepstakes and Lottery Scam Calls: "You Won — Just Pay the Fees First"
The call says you have won a sweepstakes, a lottery, or a new car, and all that is left is a small payment for taxes, customs, or processing. That payment is the scam. Publishers Clearing House says it in writing: the real PCH will never call you or ask you to pay money to claim a prize.
By the Numbers
- $351M — Lost to prize and sweepstakes scams in 2024 (FTC)
- 80%+ — Of reported sweepstakes losses came from people over 65 (BBB)
- $1,000 — Median loss per victim (FTC)
What is a sweepstakes or lottery scam call?
A sweepstakes scam is a prize that costs money. The caller says you have won — Publishers Clearing House, a state lottery, a foreign lottery, a free cruise, a new car — and then explains that something is owed before the winnings can be released: taxes, customs duty, a processing fee, an insurance bond, a lawyer's fee. There is no prize. In 2024 the FTC logged 97,350 reports in its prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries category, with $351 million in reported losses and a median loss of $1,000. The Better Business Bureau found that more than 80 percent of the money lost in the sweepstakes and lottery scams reported to its Scam Tracker came from people over 65.
- Caller says you have won a prize you do not remember entering to win
- Before the prize is released, you must pay taxes, customs, shipping, or a processing fee
- Payment is requested in gift cards, wire transfer, a payment app, or cryptocurrency
- You are told to keep the win secret until the prize is delivered
- A "claim agent," "attorney," or "tax liaison" calls to collect the fee
- Some callers send a check to deposit, then ask you to wire part of it back
- Each fee you pay reveals another fee
How the scam works
1. The good-news call
A cheerful caller tells you your entry was selected and reads out a claim number. They congratulate you by name and may mention Publishers Clearing House, a state lottery, or a sweepstakes you half remember entering. Good news lowers your guard in a way a threat never could.
2. The fee
The prize is real, they say, but the money cannot be released until a cost is covered — federal taxes on the winnings, customs on a car being shipped, an insurance bond, a delivery charge. The amount is small next to the prize, which is exactly what makes it sound reasonable.
3. The untraceable payment
You are told how to pay: buy gift cards and read the numbers over the phone, wire money, use a payment app, or deposit cash at a cryptocurrency machine. No legitimate sweepstakes collects money this way, and none of these payments can be pulled back.
4. The secrecy
You are asked not to tell anyone until the prize patrol arrives or the paperwork clears. The secret keeps the one person who would have said "that's a scam" out of the conversation.
5. The next fee
Pay once and a new charge appears: a tax adjustment, a second customs fee, a release fee. These operations work the same people over and over — the BBB reports that anyone who has lost money to a sweepstakes scam is likely to be contacted again.
Warning signs of a sweepstakes or prize scam
- You are told you won a sweepstakes, lottery, or prize you never entered
- You must pay taxes, customs, shipping, or a processing fee before receiving the prize
- Payment is requested in gift cards, wire transfer, a payment app, or cryptocurrency
- The caller asks you to keep the win secret until the prize is delivered
- You are sent a check, asked to deposit it, and told to wire part of it back
- The caller claims to be from Publishers Clearing House, a state lottery, or a lottery in another country
- They ask for your bank account or Social Security number to "deposit your winnings"
- After you pay one fee, another one appears
How Gini helps
Gini answers the unknown numbers
A prize call has to reach you to work. Gini answers unknown callers before your phone rings, so the congratulations script gets delivered to an AI screening assistant instead of to you. Many of these calls are automated, and automated calls are exactly what pre-ring screening is built to stop.
The junk stops piling up
Prize and sweepstakes operations dial the same numbers again and again once you are on their list. With screening on, far fewer of those calls ever ring through, which means a quieter phone and a shorter voicemail box.
Live analysis hears the fee request
If a real person talks their way past screening, Gini can listen during the connected call and watch for the tell: a prize you have to pay to receive. It alerts you while the caller is still on the line, and the caller cannot tell it is happening.
Winner texts and emails get a second look
The same operations follow up by text and email. Gini scans your texts and your inbox and flags the ones that read like prize scams, so you have something to check against before you reply. Gini does not answer them for you — it points them out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Publishers Clearing House call you if you win?
No. Publishers Clearing House states on its own scam-reporting site that "the real Publishers Clearing House will never call you or ask you to pay money to enter or claim a prize," and that no purchase or fee is ever required to enter or win. So a phone call announcing a PCH prize — especially one that mentions a fee, a tax, or a shipping charge — is a scam call. PCH directs people who get one to report it to the FTC.
Do you have to pay taxes to claim a legitimate sweepstakes prize?
You may owe income tax on a real prize, but you pay it to the IRS when you file — not to the company that gave you the prize, and not up front over the phone. A legitimate sweepstakes does not collect money from you before handing over a prize, in any form. Anyone asking you to pay a fee, a tax, or a bond to release your winnings is stealing from you.
What should I do if I got a lottery or prize scam call?
Hang up and pay nothing. Do not give out your bank account, Social Security number, or date of birth, and do not confirm your address. Report the call to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If the caller claimed to be Publishers Clearing House, PCH asks that you report it too. Then tell one family member, so the next call is not a secret.
Why do sweepstakes scammers target older people?
Because that is where the money has been. The Better Business Bureau found that more than 80 percent of the dollars lost in the sweepstakes and lottery scams reported to its Scam Tracker came from people over 65, and the FTC reports that older adults are much more likely than younger adults to lose money to prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams. This is not about being gullible. These are phone operations run by people who do it all day, and a phone that still gets answered is a target.
I already sent money for a prize. What happens now?
Act today, because some payments can still be stopped. Call your bank, the wire service, or the gift card company right away with your receipts and card numbers and ask them to freeze the funds. Report the loss at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Then expect more calls — these operations come back to people who have paid, sometimes posing as a refund service or a government office that can recover your money for a fee. That second call is the same scam wearing a different hat.
Are free cruise and prize-vacation calls the same scam?
Usually, yes. A free cruise scam call follows the same shape as a sweepstakes call: you have won a trip, and now there are port fees, taxes, or a booking deposit. Real prizes do not come with an up-front bill, and a company that will only take gift cards or a wire transfer is not a travel company.
How does Gini help with prize scam calls?
Gini answers unknown callers before your phone rings, so most prize calls are handled before you ever hear them. Pre-ring screening stops the automated and obvious ones, which is the large majority. For a real person who sounds convincing enough to get through, Gini's live analysis listens on the connected call and alerts you when it hears a prize that requires a payment. Suspicious follow-up texts and emails get flagged as well.
Other scam guides
- Medicare Scams — Medicare fraud costs an estimated $60 billion a year.
- IRS Scams — IRS impersonation is the #1 phone scam in America.
- Romance Scams — A romance scam is not one bad phone call.
- Social Security Scams — Social Security impersonation scams are the #1 government impostor fraud.
- Jury Duty Scams — The call says you missed jury duty, a warrant has been issued, and you can pay a fine right now to avoid being arrested.
- Grandparent Scams — Scammers call pretending to be a grandchild in trouble, begging for money.
- AI Voice Cloning Scams — Scammers now use AI to clone a loved one's voice from just seconds of audio, then call begging for emergency money.