Accessibility Statement

Don’t Be Fooled By PCH Scams — At PCH, The Winning Is Free!

This year March 3rd – 9th has been designated National Consumer Protection Week. PCH is pleased to join in this coordinated campaign that encourages consumers nationwide to take full advantage of their consumer rights and make better-informed decisions. Check out the video below from Margaret C., Director of Consumer Affairs, and Danielle Lam, Prize Patrol Elite.

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAJEiSbAaAo[/tube]

At Publishers Clearing House we care about consumers and want to be sure you stay protected from SCAMMERS and PCH SCAMS fraudulently pretending to be associated with our well-recognized PCH name!  As a company that has been in business for over 50 years, PCH is an iconic brand, recognized and welcomed into households all across the country. And, if you are familiar with the PCH name, you can be sure the scammers know us, as well.

Recently we’ve been hearing reports that scammers are accessing and using the names of our real PCH employees in their criminal attempts to deceive you.  Names you’ve come to know and recognize such as Dave Sayer, Todd Sloane and Danielle Lam  – all real members of our famous PCH Prize Patrol.  Even the name of Deborah Holland, our Executive Vice President whose name appears in PCH promotional mailers, has been hijacked and illegally used by scammers.

Our message is simple:  If you are ever contacted by someone claiming to represent PCH, or claiming to be one of our employees, and asked to send or wire money (for any reason whatsoever, including taxes); or send a pre-paid gift card or Green Dot MoneyPak Card in order to claim a sweepstakes prize – DON’T!  It’s a PCH SCAM. If you are sent a check, told it’s a partial prize award, and asked to cash it and send a portion back to claim the full prize award, DON’T.  The check is fake, but the SCAM is real!

Remember, at PCH the winning is free.  So, stay informed and stay protected! And if you want to find out more about how PCH works to stop PCH scams, check out our Consumer Affairs site.

Margaret C.

Director, Consumer Affairs

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Comments

  1. I received a phone call from Bob telling me I had won $2,5 million and 7k a week for life.
    The call popped on my phone as a # from Hollywood, FL. 1-954-$$$-$$$$.

  2. I received a call and email stating that I won $10K a week or $7.5 million. It was too good to be true, but I have been scammed. I have a copy of the voice message and email. Please investigate this matter. The message and email used Susan Williamson.

    1. Hello Marilyn, As tempting as it may be, we don’t encourage anyone to engage a scammer any longer than is minimally necessary. Simply tell them you know they’re a scam and hang up. PCH doesn’t notify major winners by phone, standard mail, email, or social media, and we never ask for money to claim a prize. Please report all scam contacts to PCH via the following link: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. You can also check out this FAQ for info on how you can block scammers from contacting you via Facebook: http://bit.ly/StopFBScammers. Stay safe everyone and be careful of scammers pretending to be the REAL Prize Patrol!

  3. Hi!
    I really feel that I have been scammed.
    How in the world does someone pretend to be David Sayer introduced me to Howie Guja as the claim manager under the name of Peter Simon.
    Peter has been in contact with me for months asking me to pay taxes, fees to FDIC , to US Custom and when I finally had invested in this deal he expected me to send more money to the FBI. I had enough, so I decided to do a little research .
    The latest is that he sent me a letter from Deborah Holland , vice president of PCH in which I am requested to pay an additional $210,000.00 before the price could be delivered.
    I have all the documentation of all the money he made me ,pay in view of the price of $18,500,000.00 awarded to me in January 2023 . Many times I felt that was a scam, but he assured me that is the way it should be done.
    Here is the most recent info about him:
    Agent officer: Peter Simon
    e-mail: pet$$$$$$1m2@gmail.com
    phone: 516-665-$$$$
    I hope I can get an answer soon.
    Thank you,
    Brigida

  4. I received a phone call from”PCH” with the confirmation number, stating that I had been selected in the second place winner in your unclaimed cash award drawing. Funny thing, though I don’t remember ever applying to any PCH drawings. Is this a scam as well?

  5. You named Dave Sayer as a person who works for you . He wants to charge me $500 to send my winning money. Is this note from the real Dave Sayer? He said I won.

    1. Hello Maryl, That is a scammer pretending to be Dave Sayer- not the real Dave Sayer! The real Prize Patrol never sends friend requests, winner notifications or private messages on Facebook and you never need to pay to claim a prize. Do not give the scammer ANY of your personal information or any money! Please report this scam to us by completing a scam incident report. Click this link to find out how: https://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. Stay safe everyone!

  6. Someone contacted me on Instagram claiming she is Danielle Lam and I won! She needed my ss number and a copy of my drivers license….is this a scam?

  7. I was on one of your PCH sites and I thought that I seen it said I won a $250 gift card or cash. I want to know how do I legitimately claim that, or was it a scam and how can you look it up?

    1. Hi Jeffrey! We can certainly check that for you but we’re going to need a little more information. Please reach out to our Customer Service team who will be happy to help. You can find all our contact information right here: http://bit.ly/ContactPCH. We look forward to hearing from you!

  8. I was informed that my name was publicly published on something that read PCH was commencing funding to citizens that need not to be paid back? But I have not heard nor received anything about it. How can my name be on something like that?

    1. Hi Michelle! Thank you for contacting PCH. In order for us to assist you with your question we will need a bit more information. We kindly ask that you contact us at your convenience. Our customer service representatives may be reached at http://bit.ly/ContactPCH. You may also reach out by using our Digital Assistant that can be found at the link we provided. We look forward to hearing from you.