Sweepstakes Scams: Fake Prize Notices and the Fees They Demand

Sweepstakes scams tell you that you’ve won a prize, such as cash, a car or a lifetime payout from a famous sweepstakes, and then ask you to pay a fee, tax or delivery charge before you can collect it. Legitimate sweepstakes don’t make winners pay to receive a prize, so any request for money upfront is the clearest sign of a scam. Don’t pay, don’t share your bank details, stop contact and report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

These notices are built to make you feel lucky and rushed at the same time. If you’ve already paid, it’s not too late to act, and it doesn’t mean you were careless. Scammers do this for a living. This guide explains how the scams work, how real sweepstakes operate, and what to do next.

How sweepstakes scams usually work

A sweepstakes is a prize drawing that, in the US, generally can’t require a purchase to enter or win. Scammers borrow the idea, and often the names of real, well-known sweepstakes, to announce a win you never actually earned.

The notice might come by phone, letter, email, text or social media. It usually includes a big prize, a claim number, the name of an “official” or “prize coordinator,” and a deadline. The catch always follows: a processing fee, a delivery charge, insurance, or “taxes” that must be paid first, often by gift card, wire transfer, payment app or cash.

After the first payment, new costs appear. Some scammers call repeatedly for weeks or months, and some pass victims on to other scammers who pose as officials investigating the “delay.”

Common versions of sweepstakes scams

Fake Publishers Clearing House-style notices

The best-known sweepstakes names are the most copied. Callers may claim to be from Publishers Clearing House or a similar company, say you’ve won a big prize, and ask for a fee to arrange delivery. Publishers Clearing House says it never asks winners to pay to claim a prize. The same principle holds for other legitimate sweepstakes sponsors.

“Pay the taxes first” prizes

A common trick is to say you owe taxes on your winnings and must pay them before the prize is released. Winners of real prizes can owe income tax, but that’s paid to the IRS through your tax return, not to the caller. A real sponsor may send you tax paperwork after you win; it won’t ask you to wire tax money to it.

Car and big-ticket prizes

“You’ve won a new car” notices usually come with a delivery, registration or insurance fee that must be paid before the car is “shipped.” There’s no car.

Fake brand giveaways online

Social media accounts and pop-ups impersonating brands, retailers or influencers say you’ve won a gift card, phone or cash in a giveaway, then ask for a small shipping fee, your card details or a quick survey. These often lead to phishing pages or hidden subscriptions. Our guides to Instagram scams and phishing emails cover the online versions in more depth.

Fake checks with your “winnings”

Some notices include a check to cover the fees, with instructions to deposit it and send part of the money back. The check can appear to clear before the bank discovers it’s fake, and you’re left owing the full amount. Our fake check scams guide explains how this works.

If the message says you won a lottery rather than a sweepstakes, especially a foreign one, our guide to lottery scams covers that version.

Warning signs of a sweepstakes scam

• You have to pay to collect. Any fee, tax, delivery charge or deposit.
• Unusual payment methods. Gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, crypto or cash sent by mail or courier.
• You don’t remember entering. You might have entered something once, but a notice for a contest you can’t recall deserves extra checks.
• A call, text or email asking for bank details “so the prize can be deposited.”
• Pressure. The prize will go to someone else unless you act today.
• Secrecy. You’re told not to tell family or your bank until the prize arrives.
• Official-sounding titles. People claiming to be from a “national sweepstakes bureau” or a government agency that oversees prizes. No federal agency calls to hand out sweepstakes prizes or collect fees for them.
• Small mistakes. Misspelled company names, free email addresses, or a phone number that doesn’t match the one on the company’s official website.

How to check whether a prize notice is real

1. Don’t use the contact details in the notice. Look up the sponsor’s official website yourself by typing it in, and use the contact information there.
2. Ask the sponsor directly whether you won and how its winners are notified. Many large sponsors publish scam warnings and explain how they contact winners.
3. Look for the official rules. Legitimate sweepstakes publish rules naming the sponsor, the prizes and how winners are chosen and notified.
4. Search the wording of the notice alongside “scam.” Many fake notices are reused word for word.
5. Talk to someone you trust before sending any money or information.

What to do right now

1. Don’t pay. Not the fee, the tax or the delivery charge.
2. Stop contact. Hang up, stop replying and block the number or account.
3. Don’t deposit any check that came with the notice. If you did, tell your bank right away that it may be fake.
4. Call your bank or card issuer if you paid or shared card or account details, using the number on your card.
5. Change passwords if you entered login details on a “claim” page, and turn on two-factor authentication. Our guide to what to do if your account was hacked covers the steps.
6. Save the evidence. Letters, envelopes, emails, texts, phone numbers, screenshots and receipts.

Where to report a sweepstakes scam

• The FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• The FBI’s IC3 at ic3.gov, if it happened online or by email, text or social media.
• The US Postal Inspection Service, if the notice or a check came by mail.
• Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM).
• The real company being impersonated, through its official website.
• The platform, if it came through a social media account or ad. Report it as a scam or impersonation.
• Your state attorney general.

Our guide on how to report a scammer brings every route together, including for readers outside the US.

Can you get money back after a sweepstakes scam?

How you paid	What you can try
Credit or debit card	Ask your card issuer about a dispute or chargeback quickly.
Gift cards	Call the company that issued the card, report the scam and ask whether the balance can be frozen. Keep the cards and receipts. Our gift card scams guide has more detail.
Payment apps	Report the payment in the app and to your bank. Protection for payments you authorized is often limited.
Wire transfer	Contact the transfer service and your bank immediately and ask for a reversal. Wires are usually hard or impossible to reverse once collected.
Cash by mail or courier	Contact the Postal Inspection Service or the courier right away in case the package can be intercepted.

Expect follow-up calls after you’ve been targeted, including people offering to get your money back for a fee or claiming to be investigators. Those are usually part of the same operation. See our guide to recovery scams.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real case. Gloria, who enters online contests now and then, gets a call from a cheerful man who says she’s won a large monthly payout from a famous sweepstakes. A prize team can visit this week, he says, once she pays a “processing and delivery fee” with gift cards from a local store.

1. Gloria remembers that real sweepstakes don’t charge winners and asks him for a call-back number. He becomes pushy.
2. She hangs up, finds the sponsor’s official website herself, and reads its warning that it never asks winners to pay.
3. She blocks the number and writes down the time of the call and the names he used.
4. She reports the call to the FTC and to the sponsor through its official site.
5. Over the next week, she gets calls from a “prize compliance officer.” She lets them go to voicemail and doesn’t call back.

How to protect yourself next time

• Keep one rule in mind: if you have to pay, you didn’t win.
• Use a separate email address for contests and giveaways, so any real prize notice is easy to check and scams are easier to spot.
• Only enter sweepstakes run by sponsors you can verify, and keep a note of what you entered.
• Never give bank details, your Social Security number or card numbers to claim a prize from someone who contacted you.
• Talk to family. If an older relative gets frequent prize calls, it may mean their number is on a list scammers share. Helping them screen calls and agree on a “check with me first” rule can make a big difference.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Paying “the taxes.” Real prize taxes go to the IRS through your return, not to a caller.
• Trusting a famous name. Scammers use well-known sponsors because they sound believable.
• Calling back the number on the notice. It goes straight to the scammer.
• Keeping it secret out of embarrassment. Telling someone is often what stops the next payment.

If scammers are running fake giveaways in your business’s name, report each account as impersonation and warn customers on your official channels. Our guide on online impersonation covers the steps. If fake giveaways or complaints are now showing up in search results for your brand, our social media reputation management service can help.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to pay to claim a sweepstakes prize?

No. Legitimate sweepstakes don’t make winners pay fees, buy anything or send tax money to the sponsor to collect a prize. A request for payment means it’s a scam.

Does Publishers Clearing House call winners and ask for money?

Publishers Clearing House says it never asks winners to pay to claim a prize. If someone using its name asks for a fee, taxes or gift cards, it’s a scam. Check any notice through the company’s official website.

Do I owe taxes on a real sweepstakes prize?

Real prizes can be taxable income, but you pay any tax to the IRS through your tax return, not to the sponsor or a caller before you receive the prize. A tax professional can advise on your situation.

What's the difference between a sweepstakes scam and a lottery scam?

Both ask you to pay to collect a prize. Lottery scams usually claim you won a lottery, often a foreign one, that you never bought a ticket for. Sweepstakes scams usually borrow the name of a famous prize drawing or brand giveaway.