People around the world are being sent emails telling them that they have won a fortune in a fake Australian lottery that claims to be endorsed by the Australian Government. Confused consumers have been contacting SCAMwatch and other government agencies to check whether the lottery is genuine.   

Consumers are advised that the Australian Government does not operate a national lottery and the Australian Lotto Lottery (or similar) has not been endorsed or authorised by the Australian Government.

Lottery scams have been around for a long time. While many fake lotteries are easy to spot, scammers will go to extreme lengths to create official‑looking documents, certificates or even websites to convince you that the prize is genuine. The scammers behind the fake Australian lottery are even misusing the ‘australia.gov.au’ domain name to create false email addresses to make it look like the lottery has official support.

Wherever you live, you could be the target of an international lottery scam. If you receive a letter or an email telling you that you have won money or a prize in a foreign lottery which you have not entered, you should check with the government in your country to see if the lottery is genuine before you decide whether to respond.

Explore SCAMwatch for more tips on how to recognise and protect yourself from lottery scams.

To report a suspected scam, visit the report a scam page.

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Unexpected prize and lottery scams work by asking you to pay some sort of fee in order to claim your prize or winnings from a competition or lottery you never entered.