"Congratulations! You've won!" — possibly the most expensive sentence in America. The prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scam is one of the oldest cons there is, and it has never stopped working because it preys not on fear, but on hope. In this episode, host Mark Sullivan reveals how the dream of a windfall becomes a trap, the cruel "sunk-cost" spiral that keeps victims paying fee after fee, and the single, never-fails detector that exposes every version instantly: a real prize never asks you to pay to collect it. Backed by FBI and FTC data.

In this episode: why this scam uses joy instead of fear, the "fees" that are really the entire con (taxes, customs, processing), how one payment turns into many, the "sucker list" that paints a target on victims' backs, and the magic-wand rule — if you have to pay to collect winnings, it's a scam, every time.

Note: Online Scams — Real Stories of Fraud and How to Identify a Scammer has no partnership, sponsorship, or financial relationship with any organization, sweepstakes, website, or app mentioned in this episode. Resources are shared purely for listener benefit.

• Older adults more likely to lose money to prize/sweepstakes/lottery scams. Older adults were much more likely than younger adults to report losing money on prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams (alongside tech support, romance, and government impersonation scams). FTC, "Protecting Older Consumers" report and FTC press releases (ftc.gov); CNBC summary (cnbc.com), Dec 2025.
• Sweepstakes and lottery scams as common threats to older citizens. Common scams targeting older citizens include romance, tech support, grandparent, government impersonation, sweepstakes and lottery, home repair, and TV/radio scams. FBI, "Scammers Target Older Adult Victims" (fbi.gov/news/stories/scammers-target-older-adult-victims).
• Mechanics — fees to "release" a prize, sunk-cost escalation, "sucker lists," and recovery scams. Reflects long-standing FTC consumer guidance on prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams (you never pay to collect a legitimate prize; you can't win a contest you didn't enter; payment via gift card/wire/crypto is a red flag; victims are re-targeted, including by recovery scams). FTC consumer education (consumer.ftc.gov); confirm current wording before recording.
• Reporting resources mentioned. FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov and consumer.ftc.gov. FBI: IC3.gov. AARP Fraud Watch Network helpline (free, non-members welcome).