Advance-fee scam.
In plain English
An advance-fee scam dangles something valuable, a guaranteed loan, a lottery or prize, an inheritance, a grant, or a business deal, but requires you to pay a fee upfront to receive it: taxes, processing, insurance, or a bribe. Once you pay, either nothing arrives or new fees keep appearing to release the promised money. The tell is simple and reliable: legitimate loans, prizes, and grants do not require you to send money first to get money. Real lenders take fees out of the loan, and real prizes do not charge you to claim them.
01Why it matters
The rule that you should never pay upfront to receive a loan, prize, or windfall defeats an entire family of scams, so holding that single line protects you regardless of how the offer is dressed up.
02The math, step by step
You are told you won a prize or qualified for a guaranteed loan, but first you must pay a fee to release it. After you pay, the money never comes, or more fees appear. Genuine prizes and loans never require paying money first to receive money; that requirement is the scam.
03What this is NOT
It is not a normal fee. Real lenders deduct costs from the loan rather than demanding cash first, and real prizes cost nothing to claim. A requirement to pay before you can receive a promised sum is the defining mark of the scam.
04Receipts
Every figure on this page is sourced to a primary document. Tap to open the original.