How this scam works
You will receive a notification that you have won a lot of money or a fantastic prize in a competition, thai lottery or raffle that you do not remember participating. The contact can come by mail, phone, email, text message or social networks.
The prize that has “won” could be anything from a tropical vacation to electronic equipment, such as a laptop or smartphone, or even money from an international lottery.
To claim your prize, you will be asked to pay a fee. Scammers often say that these rates are for insurance costs, government taxes, bank fees or courier charges. Scammers earn money by continually charging you these fees and delaying the payment of your earnings.
The email, letter or text message you receive will ask you to respond quickly or you will risk getting lost. You can also urge him to keep his earnings private or confidential, to “maintain security” or prevent others from getting his prize in error. Scammers do this to prevent you from seeking more information or advice from independent sources.
Lottery scams can use the names of legitimate lotteries abroad (often Spanish lotteries), so if you do a cursory investigation, the scam will seem real. Some examples of the real Spanish lotteries that scammers falsely use are Primitive Lottery and El Gordo.
Real examples of lottery scams:
Lottery scam – El Gordo Draw (PDF 177.84 KB)
Lottery scam: the National Lottery of the United Kingdom (PDF 29.69 KB)
Lottery scam – Australian Lotto Inc (PDF 40.18 KB)
You may also be asked to provide personal information to prove that you are the correct winner and to provide your bank account details so that the prize can be sent to you. Scammers use these details to try to misuse your identity and steal any money you have in your bank account.
Sometimes, scammers send a check from their earnings, like a few thousand dollars of profits, to fool you and make you believe that the offer is legitimate. However, this check will eventually bounce and you will not receive any real payment.
The scammer will take your payment and will not deliver the prize, or send you something that does not reach the promised prize.
A newer version of unexpected prize scams implies that scammers gain access to someone’s social media account and contact extended family members (aunts, cousins, etc.) and tell them that everyone has earned money. The scammer then provides an email address through which he will receive instructions on how to claim his prize. This is a particularly insidious version of the scam, as it uses trust among family members to succeed in scamming people with their money.
Thai Lottery Scam 