No! The REAL Publishers Clearing House wants you to know that you NEVER have to pay or send money to claim a prize from Publishers Clearing House! So PLEASE, beware of scams asking you to do so!
Greetings, fans and friends,
We at Publishers Clearing House can’t say it enough: There are scammers out there whose only goal is to prey on decent, hardworking people like you by masquerading as Publishers Clearing House, the PCH Prize Patrol, or employees of PCH.
And as always, Publishers Clearing House would like to remind you to beware of ALL scams that ask you to send money in order to claim a prize award!
My own mother, age 87, was a victim of a scam just this month! She was phoned three times by people claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service, saying that she had not filed her taxes (not true!), and if she did not send them approximately $5,000, or give them her credit card number, they would take her house and car away! Good thing my mother is a smart lady who knows better than to listen to these awful scammers, but she sure was shaken up and was afraid to answer her phone for several days afterwards!
As in my mother’s situation, many scammers will ask you to send or wire money or purchase a prepaid card in order to “seal the deal.” In the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, the winning is always FREE! So, if you are being asked to send some sort of payment in order to claim a “prize award,” and you are wondering “do you have to pay money to claim a prize from Publishers Clearing House?” remember that the answer is NO! And if you are being asked to send or wire money, you have not heard from the real PCH!
We also want to remind you about “Fake Check” scams. In these types of scams, you might receive a real-looking check in the mail accompanied by an “official-looking” letter. You then might be asked to wire back a portion of the check – which the scammers might tell you is your “entry fee” or your “taxes.” Once again, this is a scam and the check is fake, so don’t believe it for a moment!
Unfortunately, some of our blog readers have succumbed to Green Dot Money Pak scams. A scammer might phone you and claim that you’ve won a prize from Publishers Clearing House, but in order to claim the prize you must purchase a pre-paid Green Dot Money Pak card. These cards can be accessed remotely using the card numbers (which the scammers will ask you to provide), so don’t fall for this! Once the scammer – who could possibly be calling from a foreign country – has your money, you will never see it again!
At Publishers Clearing House, we have a number of consumer protection programs in place to keep you, or loyal fans and friends, safe and secure. These include:
- Our valuable Fraud Protection Page at PCH.com
- Our Scam Prevention tab on Facebook
- Recorded anti-scam messages on our toll-free customer service lines
- Frequent scam alerts on our blogs
- PCH’s membership in the National Consumers League Allegiance Against Fraud
- Partnership with law enforcement officials including the FBI, Postal Inspection Service, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Federal Trade Commission
If you believe you have received a suspicious letter, phone call, Facebook or Instagram message, Tweet, or email from a scammer claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House, please report it using our Scam Incident Report.
As always, stay educated … stay protected … and STAY SAFE!
Debbie K.
PCH Creative
P.S. Have you ever been scammed? What advice would you give your fellow blog readers on how to stay safe? Comment below!
I just received a phone call from PCH. They said that I won the Grand prize of $4.5 million and $5000 a week for life. It All sounds good till they said I have to pay $1500 for government approval to receive the check. Bunch of $$$$.
Hi David! 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, 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.
Tried to tell me they were delivering check today but I need to give them 1 percent of 5 million for taxes first. It’s surely a scam
Hi Donna, that’s definitely a scammer. 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, 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.
A guy on Instagram name is Patrick Clinton try to scam me today ask me did you receive your reward I said no do you no how much won I said no then he said you won 7 million and the patrol is in your area and ask do you have a credit card how much was grocery today where you bank at what’s your address telephone number now u need to go to Walmart and load $259.00 on the card I said I don’t have any money well u need to go borrow a hundred dollars from somebody and get a card and call as soon as u do that because the patrol is waiting to deliver ur package he through
Hello Roselyn, that is definitely a scammer who contacted you! PCH will never send friend requests, private messages, or winner notifications via Instagram; 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. Check out this FAQ for info on how to stop scammers from contacting you on Facebook: http://bit.ly/StopFBScammers. Please be careful everyone; don’t become a scammer’s victim!
We have gotten two phone calls saying we won the pch.
The guys name is Larry Cooper and his number is 507-###-####
He says he works for the publisher clearing house and that we need to buy a gift card for $250.00 up to $400.00.
He says his bosses name is Goldberg
Please we aren’t going to get any gift cards
However we would like to know what we can do about it.
Thank you,
Katherine S
And Donald S
Hello Katherine, 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 message from Deborah Holland telling me that I had won PCH lottery.. Then Michael Davis call me and said that I had won 6.5 million plus $7000.00 a week for life. But I would have to pay a NC Decliaration tax of $ 1500.00 to get the prize…He told me to go to the Dollar General store and purchase a $25.00 Visa card and then call hm back, which I did.. He asked for the 16 diget number and experation date.. This morning he called and told me that he was going to send me some money to pay the tax, and I would have to open a new account at the bank for my winnings to go into..
Is there a MICHAEL DAVIS working for PCH????
Thank you
Hi Bertha, 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!
No one should hurt anyone, it is so cruel.
Hello Barbara, 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 call from Frank Rosenberg his number is 646 817 4621. He asked me for $500 to receive a prize from PCH. . I hope you can stop him because after reading this page he is not going to get my money. Thank you in advance for your undivided cooperation. Sincerely Ms Barbara Moore
Hello Barbara, 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!!
It’s July 4, and scammers are alive and well, asking if I got a notification from PCH that I’d won $2.5Million. BUT, I have to get a Green Dot card from Walmart. Hung up. He called back, but I didn’t answer. Buggers.
Hello Pat, 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!
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you ought to write more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo matter but generally folks don’t discuss these issues. To the next! Cheers!!