Fake lottery / sweepstakes prize advance-fee scam — fraudulent email claims the recipient has won a large cash prize in a lottery, sweepstakes, or prize draw and requires upfront payment of a processing, administration, legal, or withholding-tax fee before the prize can be "released"; fees escalate with each payment and no prize is ever delivered

Fraudulent emails notifying recipients they have won a large cash prize in a lottery, sweepstakes, or prize draw they never entered — then requiring upfront payment of a processing, administration, legal, customs, or withholding-tax fee before the prize can be "released." The fees escalate with each payment (first $250, then "$500 for tax clearance," then "$1,000 for international transfer") and no prize is ever delivered. A distinctive behavioral signal is the instruction to keep the win "strictly confidential" — scammers instruct victims not to tell friends or family to prevent them from receiving advice before paying. Key facts: (1) FTC 2023: lottery/prize advance-fee scams caused $301M+ in reported losses, with a median individual loss of $850; Publishers Clearing House is the most-impersonated sweepstakes brand; (2) It is a federal crime (18 U.S.C. § 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute) to require any fee payment as a condition of prize delivery in a legitimate sweepstakes — any "prize" with an upfront fee requirement is fraudulent by definition; (3) Victims are typically told they were "randomly selected" despite never entering any contest — a near-certain indicator of fraud; (4) Wire transfer, Western Union, MoneyGram, and gift cards are the preferred payment methods — none of which offer any fraud protection or chargeback rights. Warning signs: prize notification for a contest you never entered, any "release fee" before delivery, Western Union/MoneyGram payment request, confidentiality instruction.