Threat Intelligence Directory
Fraud
Prize and Lottery Scam Email
Attack Trigger
Unexpected windfall excitement overrides critical thinking
What Attackers Want
$200–$5,000+ in fake "release fees"
How This Attack Works
Victims receive emails claiming they have won a lottery, prize draw, or sweepstakes they never entered. To "claim" the winnings, they must pay upfront fees, taxes, or processing charges. The winnings never arrive. This is one of the longest-running and most consistently effective scam categories targeting seniors.
Red Flags to Watch For
- ✗You cannot win a lottery or prize you did not enter
- ✗Requests upfront payment to release winnings
- ✗Winnings claimed to be from a foreign country or international lottery
- ✗Pressure to keep the prize secret from family members
How Glance Stops This
- Domain similarity analysis catches lookalike sender addresses at millisecond speed
- SPF / DKIM / DMARC validation flags authentication failures before you ever see the email
- VirusTotal + Google Safe Browsing checks every link in real time
- Urgency language detection scores the email higher for manual review
- Known malicious domain blocklist updated continuously from live scan data
Don't wait to get hit.
Glance scans every incoming email against 12 detection layers — including the exact tactics described above — before it reaches your inbox.
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