Fake prize, sweepstakes, lottery winner, or gift card winner phishing — fraudulent email claiming the recipient has won a prize, cash award, gift card, jackpot, or sweepstakes — directing them to click a link to claim their winnings, provide personal information, pay a release fee, or verify their identity to receive the prize

Phishing emails falsely claiming the recipient has won a prize, cash award, sweepstakes jackpot, lottery, raffle, gift card, or random selection reward — then directing them to click a link to claim their winnings, provide personal information, pay a release or processing fee, or verify their identity before the prize expires. Prize scams are one of the oldest fraud categories and remain highly effective. Key facts: (1) The FTC received over 148,000 prize scam reports in 2023, with losses of $301 million — the average victim lost $1,500. Prize scams disproportionately target older adults who are less familiar with the "you can't win a contest you didn't enter" rule and may believe notifications about prizes they'd forgotten entering; (2) The "processing fee" variant is the most common: victims are told their prize is being held until a small release fee, tax payment, or customs charge is paid — once paid, scammers either disappear or invent additional fees in a loop called "fee escalation"; (3) Gift card payment requests are the top payment method demanded by prize scammers — Google Play, iTunes, Amazon, and Walmart gift cards are asked for because they're irreversible, untraceable, and available at every drugstore. The FTC notes that any prize that requires you to pay to receive it is definitionally a scam; (4) "Congratulations" fatigue: email subject lines starting with "Congratulations" or "You have won" are among the highest-converting for scammers because they trigger a positive emotional response before the recipient engages critical thinking. Filtering systems that over-identify these as promotional (rather than scam) give them a pass; (5) Legitimate sweepstakes and lotteries never require winners to pay fees to collect. Publishers Clearing House (PCH) explicitly states it does not notify winners by email asking for payment. No real lottery or prize program requires gift card payment, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency to release winnings. Warning signs: unsolicited prize notification, release fee or processing payment required, gift card or wire transfer demanded, urgency about prize expiring.