You've won! Just pay the shipping or tax to claim your prize
A call, letter, or email says you've won a sweepstakes, lottery, or sweepstake from Publishers Clearing House, Reader's Digest, or a foreign lottery. To claim the prize, you must first pay shipping, processing fees, taxes, or "insurance" — often by gift card or wire transfer.
Also known as: lottery winnings scam, foreign lottery scam, PCH winner scam, advance-fee prize scam
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 It is illegal in the US to play a foreign lottery by mail or phone — and most calls about them are scams regardless
- 2 Publishers Clearing House does NOT call winners by phone. They show up in person, with the winning notification crew. There is no fee
- 3 Stop sending money. Each new 'one more fee' is the scam's pattern. There is no prize
- 4 If you have sent money, dispute the gift cards / wire with the issuer and your bank immediately
- 5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ You did not enter the sweepstakes / lottery they say you won
- ⚠ Real prizes never require you to pay taxes or fees upfront — taxes come later, separately, to the IRS
- ⚠ Prize value is huge ($100,000+) and out of proportion to anything believable
- ⚠ Payment of fees is requested by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency — never by check
- ⚠ Caller claims to be from PCH, Reader's Digest, or a foreign government lottery
- ⚠ A new variant asks you to get on a FaceTime or video call for 'identity verification' — no legitimate prize organization ever requires a video call; this is used to capture your face image to later defeat Face ID on banking apps
The sweepstakes scam is a classic advance-fee fraud and it disproportionately targets older adults. Scammers buy contact lists, send convincing “winner notifications,” and then squeeze the victim through escalating fees — first “shipping,” then “insurance,” then “tax,” then “anti-money-laundering fee” — until the victim runs out of money or family intervenes.
If you have started paying fees: stop. Every additional payment is the scam continuing. There is no prize. Talk to a family member or call the AARP Fraud Watch Helpline (877-908-3360) for help untangling it.
Known variants
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Scammers cold-call claiming a large PCH prize win, then push the victim onto a FaceTime or WhatsApp Video call for 'identity verification.' During the call they capture the victim's face, then combine it with any banking credentials gathered on the call to bypass Face ID authentication on mobile banking apps.
Last seen: 6/11/2026