Spot A Publishers Clearing House Scam With Danielle’s Tips

Danielle_Lam
12:01 am | 17 Comments »

Hi everyone, it’s Danielle with the Prize Patrol!  Did you know that I have a Danielle Lam PCH Prize Patrol Fan Page on Facebook where I post behind the scenes insight about our Sweepstakes Headquarters, plus updates from the road? It’s also the PERFECT place for me to talk to fans about our Sweepstakes, winning moments and life overall. I’m so happy that the page has grown to over 42,000 “LIKES” – WOW!!!

I personally think that being a Prize Patrol member is the most fun, rewarding, exciting job there is — and clearly other people do too, because there are people PRETENDING to be ME on Facebook! And I do not want any of you to get fooled because it’s not really me, it’s a Publishers Clearing House scam! Now they say imitation is the best form of flattery, but THIS is certainly not the case.  These pretenders are Facebook SCAMMERS that try to dupe our fans on Facebook into sending them sensitive information or money to claim prizes. It makes me so angry because the REAL Prize Patrol would never do that!

I want to do EVERYTHING I can to make sure our fans do NOT get scammed through these Facebook scammers, so here are easy tips to follow:

#1 – The ONLY legitimate PCH Fan pages are pages that I personally LIKE: Publishers Clearing House, PCHSearchAndWin, PCHgames, PCHlotto, PCHtips, Candystand.com, Dave Sayer PCH Prize Patrol, Alan Sterling At PCH, Jussie Wilder At PCH, Laura Wolfe At PCH, Victoria Zimmerman At PCH and Deborah Holland. If it’s not liked by me: It’s a Publishers Clearing House scam!

#2 – We don’t send friend requests on Facebook.  If you receive a friend request from someone on the Prize Patrol or anyone saying they work for us: It’s a Publishers Clearing House scam!

#3 – The Prize Patrol DOES NOT send private messages on Facebook. If you receive an IM or Message, it is NOT the real Prize Patrol: It’s a Publishers Clearing House scam!

#4 – We NEVER notify winners on Facebook. If you receive any winner notifications on Facebook, you guessed it: It’s a Publishers Clearing House scam!

With these simple rules, it should be easy for you to identify Facebook scammers.  If you EVER have any questions though about whether something is a Publishers Clearing House scam or not, I AM HERE FOR YOU!  Just go to my Danielle Lam PCH Prize Patrol Page on Facebook and write on my wall – or you can post a comment here on the blog!

Danielle Lam

Publishers Clearing House Cares – Can YOU Spot A Scam?

PCH Staff
12:56 am | 31 Comments »

We want our fans to be able to tell the difference between the real Publishers Clearing House and the scammers. Take our quiz below to see if you can spot a scam!

If you’re a regular blog reader, you’re probably well aware of PCH’s long tradition of awarding Sweepstakes prizes! Unfortunately, there are scammers out there who illegally use the Publishers Clearing House name to take advantage of innocent folks. We want you to stay safe and protected against these scammers.  How prepared are you to spot a scam? Take the below True or False quiz to test your knowledge!

True or False:  Publishers Clearing House has been in business for over 50 years and is a name you can trust.

TRUE!  Our company was founded in 1953 and has awarded over $238 Million in Sweepstakes prizes to date. Don’t be fooled into thinking that Publishers Clearing House is a scam. Our name is so well-recognized that oftentimes scammers will fraudulently use the good name of PCH to try to scam consumers. If anyone ever contacts you and asks you to send or wire money to claim a PCH Sweepstakes prize ― don’t fall for it!

True or False:  Publishers Clearing House will never ask you to mail or wire money to claim Sweepstakes prizes.

TRUE! We NEVER ask our winners for payment of any kind. The PCH Sweepstakes (and all legitimate sweepstakes) are FREE, that’s the law!

True or False:  If you win a SuperPrize, the Prize Patrol may notify you by phone and ask for personal bank account information to transfer your winnings.

FALSE! Our BIG SuperPrize winners are notified in person by the Prize Patrol. All those surprise “Winning Moments” you see on TV are REAL. No matter how convincing someone may sound over the phone, the simple fact remains our Prize Patrol does not call to alert winners.

True or False:  There is no purchase necessary to enter or win a Publishers Clearing House prize award.

TRUE!  All PCH Sweepstakes prizes are FREE to enter. While we hope you enjoy our value-driven deals on merchandise and magazines, buying will NOT increase your chances of winning. This important message is prominently displayed in our Official Rules and in all of our promotional mailings. If you are contacted and asked to purchase or pay a fee to claim a prize, you have not heard from Publishers Clearing House.

True or False:  Publishers Clearing House sometimes contacts winners through Facebook to alert them that they’ve won a prize.

FALSE! If you’re lucky enough to win a prize over $10,000.00, the Prize Patrol will surprise you in person.  We do not notify winners via Facebook!  If you are contacted via Facebook and told you have won a PCH prize, it’s an easy way to spot a scam.  Please keep in mind that the only legitimate PCH Fan Pages are the pages that are “Liked” by Publishers Clearing House.

So, how did you do? Could you spot a scam?

5 out of 5 ― Good job! You’re a PCH Pro!

4-3 out of 5 ― Not bad. You might want to check out this page now  to learn more on keeping yourself safe against scammers.

0-2 out of 5 ― Stop! We strongly suggest you visit the above page  NOW to protect yourself.

Please write me a message below and let me know how you did!

Stay safe,

Elaina R.
PCH Creative

Watch Our PCH Corporate Video For All The Ways You Can Win!

Amanda C.
12:48 am | 13 Comments »

One of our PCH corporate goals is to become America’s #1 destination for play and win fun. Our mission is “to entertain, inspire and delight with winning opportunities, games and relevant, compelling product offers” — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And this is a mission we couldn’t be prouder to uphold — 365 days a year.

Ever wondered how we accomplish this mission day after day after day? Well now you can get a special look! You’re invited to watch our new 2012 PCH corporate video, which shows all the ways YOU can play and win! I think you’re really going to like it. (I can’t stop watching it myself, and I’m not even eligible to win!)

Produced internally by the talented staff here at PCH, the video plays on a repeating loop in our newly renovated PCH corporate lobby. In it, you’ll see that our play and win opportunities are everywhere you are — and that you can connect to us anytime, anywhere.

You’ll see that Publishers Clearing House has expanded beyond our direct mail marketer roots to become a leading multi-channel provider of digital play and win content. When you went online, so did we, with pch.com, PCHSearch&Win, PCHGames, PCHLotto, PCHslots and more. When you went “mobile,” we did too, making sure you could connect to your favorite PCH sites anytime, anywhere from your phone. When you went “social,” we were there also, keeping you informed on Facebook, Twitter, and my personal favorite, the PCHBlog!

And we’re going to keep on going and growing, always keeping our PCH corporate mission in mind. Because wherever we go, whatever we do, the most important thing to us is giving you what you want. Like play and win opportunities! Savings! And of course, fun!

And remember, it’s all right at your fingertips. Whether you’re relaxing at home, or traveling by train, you can still play and win with PCH anytime, anywhere.

We hope you’ll enjoy the video!  Let us know if you have visited all of our sites or if you learned about a piece of our play and win world you never knew existed. And as always, if there’s anything else you’d like to see from us, please comment about that, too.  For our fans, the sky is the limit!

Amanda C.
PCH Creative

Don’t Get Fooled By Sweepstakes Scammers!

Jussie At PCH
1:01 am | 24 Comments »

It’s almost April Fool’s Day. Time for some to think about playing and avoiding pranks.

Some pranks are innocent and in good fun. Then there are the pranks that are literally CRIMINAL … like those crooks who pose as legitimate sweepstakes officials in an attempt to rob trusting people of their hard earned money.

The Tools Of The Trade For Scam Artists!

Just like robbers use tools like guns and knives, scam artists use tools like the telephone, email and Facebook to try and steal money from good folks like you. But even though these criminals use different tools, those posing as legitimate sweepstakes really only have one story to trick people: send us your money or valuable information to enter, win or claim a prize. The request is supported by a bogus reason such as prepayment of taxes, customs fees, transfer costs or any one of a number of false representations.

That Story is A LIE!

All legitimate sweepstakes are FREE TO ENTER, PLAY and WIN. That’s right. The one simple rule is that you never have to pay a fee or provide any money to enter, win or receive a prize that you have won from a legitimate sweepstakes.

The BEST THINGS In Life Are FREE!

If you enjoy REAL sweepstakes opportunities like the ones provided by Publishers Clearing House and PCHSearch, remember this GOLDEN RULE: No purchase or payment necessary to enter or win ! Let me say that again, because it’s that important: You never have to pay to enter, play, win or collect a prize from Publishers Clearing House or any legitimate sweepstakes.

You Know Someone Is A CRIMINAL If They:

• Say you are a sweepstakes winner, but you don’t remember entering
• Ask you to wire money or pay any fee to process or collect your prize
• Ask for personal information, like your Social Security number or bank account number to process your prize

If you think someone is trying to scam you, take these simple steps:

• Stop! Don’t provide a potential scammer with any money or information
• Report the scam to your local consumer protection office.
• Visit our PCH customer relationship center to get more useful information on protecting yourself from fraud (here’s the link http://help.pch.com/consumer)

Publishers Clearing House Wants Your Sweepstakes Experience To Be Fun And Rewarding!

We want your sweepstakes experience to be enjoyable. Remember the tips above to protect yourself from scammers.

As always we invite you to visit PCH.com, PCHSearch and PCHgames often to get as many exciting opportunities to win as possible where entry and winning is ALWAYS FREE!

Best wishes,

Elliott M.