Your weekly dose of scam-proofing in 3 minutes or less—no fluff, just the latest hacks, scams, phishing attacks, and cyber cons you actually need to know about.

🚨SCAM OF THE WEEK: LOTTERY SCAMS

Because apparently you can win big… without buying a ticket.

What is a Lottery Scam?

It’s a fraud where scammers tell you you’ve won a lottery, prize draw, or sweepstakes - but to claim it, you need to pay a fee, provide personal info, or click a dodgy link.

It’s not a win. It’s bait.

How it works

You get a message - email, text, letter, or even a call - telling you you’ve won something huge. A luxury car, cash prize, travel voucher, or “international lottery.”

But before you can claim it, you need to…

• Pay taxes or fees

• Verify your identity

• Fill out a claim form with personal details

• Click a link to “confirm” or “register”

Some scammers even send fake cheques to make it seem real. You cash it, the bank bounces it, and now you owe real money.

Why it works

• People want to believe it’s real - especially during tough times

• The scam triggers excitement and urgency

• The prizes seem generic enough to be plausible

• Some people genuinely forget they didn’t enter anything

• Fake cheques and official-looking documents make it feel legit

Real-world examples

🎯 2023 – UK residents lost over £9 million to lottery and prize draw scams, according to Action Fraud.

🎯 A 71-year-old pensioner in Manchester was scammed out of £18,000 after being told he’d won a car and needed to pay “customs clearance” fees.

🎯 Scammers impersonated Postcode Lottery reps using fake emails and WhatsApp messages to trick people into handing over ID documents and banking details.

Red flags to look out for

• You’re told you’ve won something you don’t remember entering

• They ask you to pay to claim a prize

• The email address or phone number looks dodgy

• The grammar is weird, or the formatting is off

• They pressure you to act fast or keep it secret

How to not get played

• If you didn’t enter it, you didn’t win it

• Never pay to receive a prize - real lotteries don’t work that way

• Don’t share personal info with strangers online, especially under pressure

• If it sounds too good to be true, it’s a scam in a party hat

• Report it, delete it, move on

🔥 ONE-LINER HOT TAKE

You didn’t win the lottery - you just got shortlisted for “next person to get scammed.”

That’s it for this week.

If a stranger tells you you’ve won a prize out of nowhere, remember: real wins don’t come with admin fees and crypto wallets.

Catch you next time,

Dan & the Goldphish Team

📌 P.S. Know someone who loves competitions a little too much? Forward this before their next “win” costs them everything, or tell them to subscribe below.👇