Lotteries in most countries are illegal unless conducted by a governmental entity or specific, exempt licensed charitable organization. It's against the law for a U.S. citizen to play a foreign lottery from within the United States, just as it is illegal for anyone living in another country to play a U.S. lottery unless they are visiting in the United States.
Foreign lottery scams typically notify their victims that they have won a prize, which can be claimed only after the victim pays some transfer fees or taxes, or provides some proof of identity or details of bank accounts or credit cards.
Some scammers even send a convincing check as part of the "winnings," which the victim is told to deposit and return some amount to cover fees and taxes associated with winning the lottery prize.
What to remember
- Legitimate lotteries will never send winnings and ask someone to send part of it back in fees. Victims who follow the bogus instructions lose twice: the winning “check” eventually proves to be a fake even if it doesn't bounce right away, and the portion of their "winnings' that they forwarded overseas ends up being taken from their own bank account.
- Be suspicious of anyone who says you've won a contest you can't remember entering.
- Sponsors of legitimate contests identify themselves prominently; fraudulent promoters are more likely to downplay their identities.
- Legitimate promoters also provide you with an address or toll-free phone numbers so you can ask that your name be removed from their mailing or calling list.
- If you truly won a lottery prize, you would not be asked for money up-front to release your “winnings.”
- If real lottery winnings are coming your way, there's no need for you to provide any bank account, credit card, or other confidential information.
- A legitmate lottery will not force you to comply with the terms immediately -- or the money will be given to someone else.
- It's highly unlikely that you've won a "big" prize if your notification was mailed by bulk rate. Check the postmark on the envelope or postcard.