Sweepstakes and prize scams

How it works

You get a popup, email, text, or DM:

"🎉 Congratulations! You've won a $1,000 Amazon gift card! Click here to claim."

Or:

"You're our 1,000,000th visitor! Claim your iPhone 17 Pro now."

You click. To "claim" the prize, you have to:

• Pay a small "shipping" or "processing fee."
• Give your bank details for "transferring the prize."
• Click through a series of fake offers, each asking for more info.
• Enter a "verification code" sent to your phone (which is actually approving a payment).

Or you wired $20 for "delivery" and the prize never arrives. Sometimes scammers use the info you gave to open accounts in your name later — that's identity theft on top of the original loss.

Why people fall for it

• The dopamine of "winning" overrides skepticism.
• The prize is a real product people want.
• The "fee" is small enough to feel low-risk.
• Scammers create realistic fake brand pages.

Red flags

• You don't remember entering the contest you "won."
• You have to pay a fee to claim a free prize. Real prizes don't work that way.
• They want your full bank details — real prizes are mailed or emailed as a code.
• Pressure to claim within hours.
• Ask for a "verification code" texted to you. (That code is approving a real payment or login on your account.)

How to stay safe

1. You can't win a contest you didn't enter.
2. Real sweepstakes never charge a fee to receive a prize.
3. Never give bank info to claim a "prize."
4. Never share a verification code that was texted to you, with anyone, ever.
5. Search the offer + "scam" before doing anything. Most popular scams have warnings online within days.

Related lessons

• Spotting money scams online

Sources & further reading

• Better Business Bureau — Sweepstakes & lottery scams
• Federal Trade Commission — Prize, sweepstakes, lottery scams

Educational only — not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. If you think you've been scammed, tell a trusted adult immediately and report it to the FTC and the BBB Scam Tracker.