Is this lottery win message real? How to tell
Nobody wins a draw they never entered. The seven signals that identify a fake win notice, and what to do with one.
Fake win notices arrive by email, text, social media message and even post. They work because they arrive on a day when a real draw took place. The test is simple: a genuine prize needs a genuine entry that you made.
Seven signals of a fake
- You did not enter. There is no such thing as a free draw you were entered into automatically, and no operator picks winners from email addresses.
- A fee is requested. Any request for a release fee, transfer charge, courier cost, legal fee or tax payment before the money arrives is a fraud. UK lottery prizes never require a payment to release them.
- Bank details are requested by message. Genuine claims collect bank details through the operator's own site or a validated claim form, never by replying to an email or text.
- The sender address is wrong. A free webmail address, a lookalike domain, or a reply-to that differs from the display name.
- Urgency and secrecy. Claim within 24 hours, tell nobody, deal only with your assigned agent. Real claim periods run for months.
- A cheque arrives first. It will clear, then bounce weeks later, after you have sent your own money onward.
- The prize does not match a real draw. Check the game, the date and the amount against the published result on this site. A prize tier that does not exist is a giveaway.
What to do
- Do not reply, do not click, do not send documents. Replying confirms the address is live and invites more.
- Report it. Forward suspicious emails to the National Cyber Security Centre reporting address, forward scam texts to 7726 free of charge, and report fraud or attempted fraud to Action Fraud, or to Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.
- Tell the operator if the message uses its name, so it can publish a warning.
- If you have already paid, contact your bank immediately and ask about the reimbursement rules for authorised push payment fraud, then report it to Action Fraud.
Checking a real ticket instead
If you did enter and want to know where you stand, use the ticket checker and then confirm with the operator or a retailer before discarding anything. Nothing you type into our tools is stored or sent anywhere.
Scam messages often target older people and are sent in large batches after a rollover. If a relative mentions an unexpected win, ask which draw and which ticket first.