Prizes that need a fee
Last reviewed:
You've won! A phone, a voucher, a holiday or cash, from a supermarket, a phone company or a lottery you've never heard of. To claim it you just need to pay for delivery, a tax or a “release fee”, or fill in your details. The prize doesn't exist. The fee is the scam, and your card details are a bonus for them.
What it looks like
CONGRATULATIONS! Your number was picked in the Golden Acorn monthly draw. You've won £500. Pay £2.99 postage to claim your prize: prize-claims.test/claim
A made-up example. Every name, number and link here is fictional.
The tell
You can't win a draw you never entered, and a real prize never costs you money to receive.
Other signs
- You don't remember entering.
- A fee to receive the prize: postage, tax, insurance or processing.
- A short deadline to claim.
- A form that wants your card details, bank details or ID.
What to do
- Don't pay and don't reply.
- If you think the competition might be real, find the company's own website yourself and check there.
- Report the message and delete it.
If you already replied, tapped or paid
- Call your bank straight away, on the number on your card (or 159 in the UK). Banks can sometimes stop or recover a payment if they hear quickly.
- Change any password you typed in, on the real site, and turn on two-step sign-in.
- Report it (below), and keep the messages and receipts.
- Be careful of anyone who then offers to get your money back for a fee. That is a second scam.
- Don't feel ashamed. Scams are written by professionals and fool careful people every day.
Report it
- In the UK: forward scam texts free to 7726, and scam emails to [email protected].
- Report fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040 (in Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101).
- Elsewhere: your country's police or consumer protection service.
Sources
The advice here follows these official UK pages:
Practise spotting it
In Scam Town you get letters, texts and calls like these, decide which are real, and see the tell after every answer. You can also build scams yourself from ready-made pieces, which is the fastest way to learn how they work. It's free and plays in your browser.
Play Scam Town