YouTube Giveaway Scam Filter: Prize-Claim Spam List
A giveaway can attract accounts claiming that viewers have won and must pay or contact a stranger to collect a prize. This pack focuses on claim instructions and payment demands. Review the list against your own winner-announcement wording before you turn it into a channel filter.
For: Creators running giveaways or seeing unsolicited prize announcements in their video replies.
Edit your list and check a comment
12 phrases. Remove anything your audience uses legitimately. Edits stay on this page and are not saved to your channel.
Phrases found: you are the lucky winner, pay to claim your prize, message the number above
This browser-only check ignores capitalization and looks for literal phrases, including inside quotations. YouTube may also match similar wording. A match is not proof of spam, and no match is not a guarantee that a comment will be published.
What this pack matches, including a false positive
These are illustrative comments, not messages from customer accounts. They use the unedited starter list.
| Example comment | Phrases found | Review context |
|---|---|---|
| You are the lucky winner! Pay to claim your prize and message the number above. | you are the lucky winner, pay to claim your prize, message the number above | A prize claim is paired with payment and private contact. Check whether the account and instructions match your published giveaway process. |
| Contact our prize agent and send your bank details to finish verification. | send your bank details, contact our prize agent | The request asks for sensitive information through an unverified contact. Review it as a suspected scam, not a normal entry. |
| Will I need to pay the shipping fee if I win? | pay the shipping fee | False positive: a genuine entrant may ask about shipping. The phrase checker cannot distinguish a question from a demand. |
Legitimate wording the starter list leaves alone
- When will you announce the winner?
- Thanks for the giveaway! I would love to enter.
These examples have no literal matches. YouTube’s own moderation can still make a different decision.
Words to avoid blocking too broadly
- winner / giveaway / prize
- These are the words legitimate entrants need. Blocking them broadly can interfere with the event itself.
- congratulations
- Viewers use it to celebrate milestones and real winners, not only to introduce scams.
A practical review routine
- Compare every flagged claim with the winner-selection and contact process you actually published.
- Keep ordinary entry comments and questions about eligibility separate from unsolicited claims that somebody already won.
- Remove payment or shipping phrases from the pack if they repeatedly catch legitimate event questions; use a more contextual rule for those cases.
Add the phrases to YouTube Studio
- Edit and copy the list above.
- In YouTube Studio settings, open Community moderation, then Content controls and Blocked words.
- Keep existing phrases you need, add your comma-separated list, and save.
- Check held comments and release legitimate matches.
Check the current YouTube Studio setup instructions if your menu differs. YouTube says comments containing or closely matching blocked terms may be held, with exceptions such as approved users. Read its comment settings guide for details. This pack is a CommentShark resource, not an official YouTube blacklist.
Adapt a contextual rule in CommentShark
When literal phrases are too broad, use this as a starting instruction for an AI match rule. Read it against your own channel policy and examples before enabling it.
Identify unsolicited comments claiming a viewer won a prize and asking for payment, bank information, wallet details, or contact with a supposed prize agent. Exclude normal giveaway entries, questions about the published rules, congratulations to a real winner, and warnings about giveaway scams. Flag uncertain cases for review.
Follow the rule editor walkthrough, choose the AI match option and Hold for review action, and check the proposed matches. Holding a comment moves it out of public view into the YouTube Studio review queue; it is different from waiting for approval of a drafted reply.
Open your rules to configure the rule yourself. This link does not import a rule or activate automation. For broader guidance, read Giveaway fraud-prevention checklist.
Questions about this moderation pack
Can I use this list while running a real giveaway?
Yes, after comparing it with your rules and announcements. Remove phrases your audience legitimately needs, especially if shipping questions are common. Review matches rather than assuming every prize-related comment is fraudulent.
Does a matching comment prove a giveaway is fake?
No. A match only means a phrase occurs in the text. The example shipping question matches even though it could be a genuine entrant asking for clarification.
Does this select or contact my giveaway winner?
No. This resource prepares moderation wording. Winner selection is a separate job, and the phrase checker never contacts a viewer or changes a comment.
Explore another moderation pack
- YouTube Impersonation Spam Filter: Telegram & WhatsApp Phrases
- YouTube Sub4Sub & Self-Promotion Blocked Words List
- Spanish YouTube Spam Filter: Copyable Blocked Phrases
Build a broader blocked-words list or audit your channel’s comment patterns.