Hello, Friends and Fans,
We at Publishers Clearing House want to bring all of you a very important message today – one that we cannot emphasize strongly enough. Please be aware that there are scammers out there claiming they represent Publishers Clearing House. Unfortunately, these scams are especially prevalent right now – when the real PCH is about to award one lucky individual a life-changing SuperPrize.
As much as we try to warn unsuspecting individuals about the difference between the real Publishers Clearing House Sweeps and an illegitimate scam, we too often learn about good, honest folks like you going through some unfortunate experiences. That is why we would like to alert you to 4 important warning signs to be aware of to help you spot the scammers and their deceitful tricks.
How to Spot Publishers Clearing House Scam
1. If someone contacts you claiming to be from PCH, and tells you that you’ve won a prize award – then asks you to send a payment or money card in order to claim the prize – STOP! You have not heard from the real PCH. IT’S A SCAM! At Publishers Clearing House the winning is always free and you NEVER have to pay to claim a prize award.
2. If you receive an email notifying you that you have won a major prize in the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, DON’T BE FOOLED: IT’S A SCAM! Publishers Clearing House does NOT send e-mails notifying consumers that they have won a major prize. If you win a major prize in our sweepstakes (like our February 28th SuperPrize), you’ll know when the Prize Patrol shows up at your door with the Big Check.
3. If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House and are asked to send money, pay a fee or pre-pay taxes to enter, collect or claim a sweepstakes prize, DON’T BE FOOLED: IT’S A SCAM! You have not heard from the “real” Publishers Clearing House. The call you received was most likely from a fraudulent sweepstakes scam operation. Again, at Publishers Clearing House the winning is always free.
4. If someone from Publishers Clearing House sends you a friend request on Facebook, DON’T BE FOOLED: IT’S A SCAM! The Prize Patrol will NEVER send friend requests to you on Facebook. Moreover, the PCH Prize Patrol members (Danielle Lam, Dave Sayer, and Todd Sloane) never send private messages on Facebook. In addition, PCH does not notify its winners through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media website.
These are the ONLY legitimate Prize Patrol pages on Facebook:
Danielle Lam PCH Prize Patrol
Dave Sayer PCH Prize Patrol
Todd Sloane PCH Prize Patrol
For more PCH Facebook scam prevention tips, please watch this video from Prize Patrol member Danielle Lam.
If you feel you have been the victim of a Publishers Clearing House Scam, please report it immediately using our Scam Incident Report.
And don’t be embarrassed to report anything suspicious – the scammers have even tried to fool our own employees!
As always, you should always verify the information in any winner notification you may receive before making any risky moves. And if you ever have any questions, let us know! We’re more than happy to help!
Stay safe everyone, and good luck on February 28th, when we announce our next SuperPrize winner!
Debbie K.
PCH Creative
Other blogs you may like:
A Personal Example of a Publishers Clearing House Scam
Publishers Clearing House Scam Prevention Tips from Danielle Lam
I just received a call from a Don Jenkins executive assistant of the sweepstakes Department. Telling me that I won 3.5 million and $7,000 weekly for life. I do believe it may be a scam the area code is 6156 that’s a red flag to me the rest of the phone number is 516-588-5133. Can you tell me if this is a scam or not before I attempt to call them back?
Hello Margaret, The real PCH doesn’t notify our major prize winners via phone, standard mail, email, or social media, and we never ask for money to claim a prize. Please report any details you have about that scam contact to us at this link: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. I also encourage you to check out these Safety Tips for some great info on what to watch for: https://bit.ly/FraudProtection2. Stay safe everyone!!
I received a letter saying I won $2,500,000.00. They also sent me a check for 5,957.00. I was told not to deposit this check until after I call the Claims Manager: they gave me a phone number and a Security Code. Is this a scam?
Hi William! That’s a common scam, so please be careful. Do not call that number, do not give the scammer any personal info including bank account information, and definitely do not send them any money if they ask. You can report that scam contact to us via the following link: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. I encourage you to read these Safety Tips too: https://bit.ly/FraudProtection2. Stay safe!
Yesterday someone sent me a text message stating that I won on PCH. They wanted to know what I was willing to pay to receive certain amounts of money. That was enough for me to know it was a scam. They said their name was Mr Wayne.
Hello Loretta, please report all contacts from scammers to PCH via this link: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. PCH does partner with the Federal Trade Commission and we send all scam reports to them so please make sure you let us know anytime a scammer contacts you. Remember, the real PCH never notifies major prize winners via phone, text, standard mail, email, or social media, and we never ask winners to pay to claim their prize. You can see more Safety Tips here: https://bit.ly/FraudProtection2. Please be careful everyone; don’t become a scammer’s victim.
I got a call from Mark Nelson .He said he is with publishers clearinghouse and I won 2.5 million.is he with the publisher clearinghouse?here is his number:5164419055.I need to know if this is a scam.he also said I won a Mercedes’ Benz to send 20,000.
Hello Lois! That is not the real PCH calling you; it’s a scammer that’s only pretending to be from PCH. Please do not call that number, do not give the scammer any personal info including bank account information, and definitely do not send them any money. If you haven’t already done so, please report that scam contact to us via the following link: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. I encourage you to read these Safety Tips too: https://bit.ly/FraudProtection2. Please be careful everyone; don’t become a scammer’s victim!
I got a text message from Robert Fletclan saying I won $750,000 & to call his number.I did not respond.He said he was with PCH.I just wanted to notify you of this scammer.
Hi Sandra! We’re so happy that you knew that wasn’t the real PCH who contacted you. We will never ask for money to claim a prize. We also don’t notify winners via phone, standard mail, email, or social media. Please report all scam contacts to PCH via this link: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. We encourage everyone to review the following Safety Tips to better protect themselves from being scammed: https://bit.ly/FraudProtection2. Stay safe!
we received a call from a Todd Sloam said he was Sr. Manager for PCH 614 ### ####, is this PCH? Was giving us different code numbers we would have to use on a call back etc. Then he started to get testy when we would not answer any questions and when we started asking more questions.
Hi Thomas! The real PCH doesn’t notify our major prize winners via phone, standard mail, email, or social media, and we never ask for money to claim a prize. Please report any details you have about that scam contact to us at this link: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. I also encourage you to check out these Safety Tips for some great info on what to watch for: https://bit.ly/FraudProtection2. Stay safe everyone!!
I keep getting calls from a Bill Johnson from PCH who says I have won $5:000:000 and a 2020 Mercedes’. only money required is money order for delivery fees. is this for real? Barbara R. his phone number is 702 ### #### for Bill Johnson.
Hi Barbara, I’m sorry to tell you that was a scammer, not the real PCH. It’s important to remember that PCH does not contact winners of a major prize via phone, text, email, mail, or on Social Media. Also, if anyone asks you for money for any reason to claim a prize, you can be sure they’re a scammer. Please don’t give them any money, or any personal information! You can report them to us at this link: https://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. We provide numerous videos, blogs, and tips to recognize these scammers here: https://info.pch.com/fraud-protection-2/. Take care!
My mom received a photocopy letter from “PCH” that had been sliced open, no return address, and a crummy looking stick on label of her address. Inside the letter was a “check” from OPTUMRx for $7980.55 also instructing her to call the claims manager 1-289-929-#### BEFORE depositing the check (I’m sure they were going to ask her for her banking info) and the check was to cover attorney’s fees/insurance. From Richie Jenkins CFO
Hi there, remember that the real PCH doesn’t notify our major prize winners via phone, standard mail, email, or social media, and we never ask for money to claim a prize. Please report any details you have about that scam contact to us at this link: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. I also encourage you to check out these Safety Tips for some great info on what to watch for: https://bit.ly/FraudProtection2. Stay safe everyone!!
7/2/2022
I received a letter, dated June 17, 2022, with a $7979.50 check for “attorney fees”, today.
Post Marked: Los Angeles CA 900, 29 June 2022
Return Address: PCH ### Mississippi St., San Francisco, CA #####
Telephone Contact, Claims Manager: 1-###-###-1191, or 1-###-###-5405.
Rickie Jenkins,
Chief Financial Officer
Guessing the saying is, “if it’s too good to be true it probably isn’t” is likely the case here, too.
Bob Crawford, President, Winners Selection Commission – Chief of Scamming
I guess I just voided the prize by giving my information to a “third party”, imagine that!
Hello there, we’re sorry to hear the scammers have contacted you. We would like to remind everyone that you never have to pay to claim a PCH prize. PCH do NOT contact winners of a major prize via phone, text, email, mail, or on Social Media. Please report all scammers to us by completing a scam incident report: https://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. We provide numerous videos, blogs, and tips to help protect yourself and you can check it out here: https://info.pch.com/fraud-protection-2/. Please stay safe!
I have someone on Instagram saying I won and trying to have me pay a fedX fee?
Hi Daniel, that is definitely a scammer who contacted you! PCH will never send friend requests, private messages, or winner notifications via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc; we also never ask for money to claim a prize. Do not give this person any personal information and certainly do not send them any money!! Instead, report them to PCH by completing a Scam Incident Report. Here’s how: http://bit.ly/Report-Scam-To-PCH. We provide numerous videos, blogs, and tips to recognize these scammers here: https://info.pch.com/fraud-protection-2/. Please be careful everyone; don’t become a scammer’s victim!