You've Won a Prize / Lottery Notification Scam
Attack Trigger
Excitement of winning a prize you never entered for overrides critical judgment
What Attackers Want
$200–$10,000 in escalating taxes and processing fees
How This Attack Works
Victims receive emails, texts, or pop-ups congratulating them on winning a large cash prize, vehicle, or luxury item in a competition or sweepstakes they never entered. To claim the prize, victims must pay taxes, processing fees, or shipping costs upfront, which escalate with each payment while no prize ever materializes.
Red Flags to Watch For
- ✗You cannot win a prize or lottery you never entered
- ✗Any prize that requires upfront payment to claim is a scam
- ✗Notification asks for your SSN or bank account to "process the award"
- ✗Winner notification comes from a free email address or unfamiliar domain
- ✗Claimed prize value is extremely high to maximize victim motivation
- ✗Request for secrecy to prevent "disqualification" — designed to isolate you from skeptical friends or family
- ✗Fees escalate with each payment, always with a new reason
Known Malicious Domains
These domains have been associated with this attack. Never click links going to these addresses.
- prize-winner-notify.comMALICIOUS
- international-award-claim.netMALICIOUS
- you-won-sweepstakes.comMALICIOUS
- claim-your-reward-now.netMALICIOUS
Glance automatically blocks emails from domains on this list. Domain list is not exhaustive — attackers register new domains continuously.
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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