I received a message saying I've won a lottery/prize but need to pay a fee first, is this a scam?

Question

I got an email/SMS/WhatsApp message claiming I've won a huge lottery or prize from a foreign company and need to pay processing fees or taxes to claim it. Before I spend money on it, I want to know whether Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Section 318 gives me a remedy here and what proof I would need. Any Section numbers I can quote when I write to them would be useful.

MyVakeel Legal Desk · Accepted Answer

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Section 318, Information Technology Act, 2000 – Section 66D and Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 is what decides this question in India. Read it alongside the provisions named, because the relief available to you turns on the facts you can prove on paper.

This is almost always advance-fee fraud, a form of cheating under Section 318 BNS, aggravated to Section 66D IT Act cheating by personation where a fake company/lottery organisation identity is used to induce payment.

Genuine lotteries never require winners to pay 'processing fees', 'customs duty' or 'taxes' upfront before releasing winnings — legitimate prize disbursement deducts applicable tax (like TDS under Section 194B of the Income Tax Act) from the prize itself, it is never collected separately from the winner beforehand.

Foreign lottery participation itself is also restricted under FEMA, 1999 for Indian residents, meaning many of these schemes claim to be 'international lotteries' you never actually entered, which is itself a red flag of fraud.

Once you pay one 'fee', scammers typically invent further fees (insurance, bank charges, etsc.) to extract more money — the correct response is to stop all payment and communication at the first request itself.

Report the sender's number/email/website to cybercrime.gov.in, and if any payment has already been made, follow the standard fund-trace process through your bank and the 1930 helpline immediately.

In practice, in this order: 1) Do not respond to or pay any 'fee' demanded to release a prize; 2) Block the sender and preserve the message as evidence; 3) Report at cybercrime.gov.in, especially if any payment was made; 4) Warn friends/family circulating similar messages.

Timing matters here: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Section 318 works on limitation periods, so a lottery scam claim that is right on the merits can still fail if it is brought late. You can post the details on the MyVakeel forum for a practising advocate to review, or book a paid consultation with a Bar Council verified lawyer in cyber law.