Fake lottery scams: how to spot them

“You have won, pay the tax first”

A call, SMS or WhatsApp message says you won a lottery and must pay a registration fee, processing fee, GST, tax or a deposit to receive it. This is always fraud: a real prize has tax deducted from it, and no lottery office or bank asks you to pay first. The RBI warns that nobody from the RBI calls people about lottery winnings.

Online Kerala lottery

Kerala lotteries are paper lotteries, sold as printed tickets. Kerala Police warned in July 2026 that buying or selling Kerala lottery tickets online is banned, and that fake sites and WhatsApp groups use the government emblem, “mega bumper” offers and fake result checks to collect money.

“Guaranteed number” groups

No one can know a lottery number before the draw. The Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 forbids prizes on a pre-announced number. Groups that sell a “sure”, “fixed” or “leak” number are cheating you.

Fake result images

A result image on WhatsApp can be edited. Check the number on the official result PDF or on our result page, which shows the numbers from the published sheet, before you pay or celebrate.

Report it

Call the cybercrime helpline 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in. Do not share OTPs, UPI PINs or bank details.