Quick answer: Sometimes, yes. Email is the usual first contact and some operators also call, especially about high-value prizes. The reliable test is behaviour rather than the channel: a genuine operator never asks for payment or bank details to release a prize, and any win can be verified through your own account.
Key takeaways
- Contact methods vary by operator: email is the common first channel, phone calls happen too, and some sites add an account message or a published winners list.
- No genuine operator asks for payment or bank details to release a prize. Any request for a fee, a deposit or card details is a scam signal.
- Verify a win through your own account and official contact details you look up yourself, never through links or numbers in an unexpected message.
See what settled wins look like in public: the winners page lists real outcomes, and new players can claim free tickets to get started on the free routes.
How do competition sites contact winners?
Competition sites contact winners using the details on the entry, and the channel varies by operator. Email is the most common first contact, phone calls happen, particularly for high-value prizes, and some sites also send an account message or publish a winners list. Keep your email address and phone number current so nothing is missed.
| Channel | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| The most common first contact, sent to the address on your entry | |
| Phone call | Used by some operators, especially for high-value prizes |
| Account message | A notification stored inside your account on the site |
| Published list | Winners shown on the operator's own winners page after the draw |
Two things are consistent across genuine operators: contact arrives through details you provided yourself, and there is always a record you can check independently, usually in your account or on a winners page. Cold contact about a prize you never entered is the pattern to distrust.
Will a real competition ever call you?
Yes, some operators do call winners, and a real call has a recognisable shape: it confirms a competition you actually entered, explains the next step, and never demands payment or sensitive bank details to release a prize. If anything feels off, stop and verify independently.
- What a genuine call may cover. Confirming the competition and the entry you won with, explaining the prize, and agreeing practical details such as delivery once checks are complete.
- What a genuine call never asks. Payment of any kind, or bank details, to release a prize. If a caller wants a fee, a deposit, card details or a password, end the call.
- What you can always do. End the conversation and verify first. Nothing legitimate collapses because you checked through official channels before continuing.
What are the signs of a competition scam call?
Scam calls and texts follow a pattern: they push for speed, ask for a fee or card details, steer you to a premium rate number, and often arrive when you did not enter anything. Genuine prize contact can always wait while you verify it independently.
- A fee of any kind to release the prize: a release fee, an admin fee, a courier charge or a tax payment.
- Requests for card details, banking passwords or security codes.
- Urgency, such as "pay within the hour or the prize goes to someone else".
- A premium rate number to call back (a phone line that charges you by the minute).
- A prize you cannot match to anything you entered.
- Messages that insist the conversation moves to a chat app.
One pattern runs through all of them: the scam needs you to act before you check. Genuine prize contact survives a pause; scams do not.
The reliable way to tell real from fake is to know the real process: outcomes are published on the winners page, and new players can claim free tickets to see how notifications and entries look from the inside.
What should you do if you missed a call?
Do not call back on the number in the message. Look the operator up yourself, log in to your own account to see if any win is recorded, and contact the operator through the official website if you want confirmation. Real notifications leave a trail you can check.
- Do not call back on the number in the message.
- Look up the operator's official contact details on their website.
- Log in to your own account and look for any win, notification or message there.
- Check the published winners list for the draw you think the call relates to.
- If you want to speak to someone, call the official number you looked up, not the one provided.
- If nothing matches, treat it as a scam and report the message on the platform it arrived on.
Do winners ever pay to claim a prize?
No. Winners of UK prize promotions pay nothing to claim or receive a prize; fulfilment is the operator's cost. A request for a fee, a deposit, a courier charge or a tax payment is a scam, and the framing does not change that. That applies to every prize type, from cash to cars.
- Common framings. A "release fee", a "courier fee", a "verification deposit" or a "tax clearance" request. The wording changes; the ask does not.
- Why a tax demand is especially wrong. UK competition winnings are not taxed as income, so a prize with a tax bill attached is a contradiction (general information, not tax advice). More detail sits in our guide to tax on competition winnings.
- What genuine fulfilment looks like. Operators cover their own costs, and winners pay nothing to receive what they won. Our step by step article on what happens when you win walks through the full process.
- Where to check. The warning sign checklist in how to spot a legit prize competition takes two minutes.
How can you verify a win is genuine?
Run two checks before you do anything: your own account and the operator's official details, found independently of the message. A genuine win is recorded in your account, matches the published results, and will still be claimable after you have taken a moment to confirm it.
- Type the site address yourself and sign in.
- Check your account for the win or the notification it should have produced.
- Compare what you find with the operator's published winners list.
- Contact the operator through official details if anything needs confirming.
- Never share passwords or security codes with anyone who contacts you.
- Take your time. Genuine prizes do not vanish because you verified them.
Start with a site whose process you can inspect: MrRaffle publishes winners and shows every game's odds and remaining prizes, and claiming free tickets takes a minute.
Frequently asked questions
Should you answer a call saying you won a competition?
Only if you can match it to a competition you actually entered. It is safer to end the call and verify first: log in to your account, check the official winners list, and call back on a number you look up yourself.
Why do I get calls about prizes I never entered?
Prize calls for competitions you never entered are a classic scam pattern. Genuine operators contact winners of draws they actually ran, using entry details, so a prize with no matching entry is one to ignore and report.
Do competition sites call or email winners?
Both channels are used. Email is the most common first contact, and some operators also call, especially for high-value prizes. A serious operator also leaves a record you can check in your account or on their winners page.
What information should you never give a competition caller?
Never give card details, banking passwords, security codes or any payment to release a prize. If a caller asks for any of those, end the call. A genuine prize process does not work that way.
How do you check if a missed call was about a real win?
Look the operator up yourself rather than calling back the number, then check your account and the published winners list. If nothing matches, treat the call as a scam. Real notifications are recorded somewhere you can access independently.
Sources
- MrRaffle winners, MrRaffle, accessed 7 October 2026
- MrRaffle Competition Terms and Conditions, MrRaffle, accessed 7 October 2026
- CAP Code, Section 8: Promotional marketing, ASA and CAP, accessed 7 October 2026
- Voluntary code of good practice for prize draw operators, DCMS, accessed 7 October 2026
Play responsibly
MrRaffle is for UK residents aged 18 and over. Only play with money you can afford to spend, set a budget before you start, and take a break if it stops being fun.
New players can claim free tickets, check the winners page to see how outcomes are published, and read how to spot a legit prize competition before you play anywhere.
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