Foreign-Lottery Mail Scam
A letter or email says you won an international lottery you never entered and must pay fees to claim it — plus it is illegal to play foreign lotteries by mail.
Think a message like this reached you? You can check it right now.
What this scam is
You receive official-looking mail or email announcing a win in a foreign lottery (often European or Canadian) and instructions to contact a 'claims agent' and pay taxes or fees to release the winnings. You never entered, the win is fake, and playing foreign lotteries through the mail is itself illegal in the US. The fees and any bank details you share are the scam, and payment leads to endless further demands.
What it usually looks like
- A letter/email about a foreign-lottery win you never entered.
- A 'claims agent' to contact.
- Fees or taxes to release winnings.
- Requests for bank details or a wire.
Common warning signs
- Winning a lottery you never entered, especially foreign.
- Upfront fees to claim.
- Requests for bank details or wires.
- Official-looking but unverifiable paperwork.
Example wording scammers use
“You have won €950,000 in the International Lottery. Contact our claims agent and remit the processing fee to receive your funds.”
“To release your prize, wire the tax fee and provide your bank details.”
These are illustrative examples written by ScamSplain, not real messages.
What the scammers want
- Upfront fees and wires.
- Your bank details.
- To keep you paying toward a fake prize.
What to do
- Ignore foreign-lottery winnings; you cannot win a lottery you never entered.
- Never pay fees or share bank details to claim.
- Do not play foreign lotteries by mail.
- Report the mailer.
What to do if you already responded
- Contact your bank if you wired money or shared details.
- Keep the letter/email as evidence.
- Report to USPS and at reportfraud.ftc.gov.