Hey friends and fans,

Who would have thought that ten years ago sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter would be a part of our daily life? And haven’t social media platforms like these made life a lot easier? We’re better informed, we’re better connected, we no longer need to attend high school reunions to see how our former classmates are doing — all in all, some wonderful things! But here’s an important PCH reminder: the Prize Patrol NEVER contacts winners on social media to tell them about their prize!

As the Prize Patrol team loves to share updates — live footage from the road, the inside workings of PCH, or even just fun memes — they of course have social media profiles! Danielle, Howie and Matt are very active on Instagram! However, for a number of reasons, the Prize Patrol does not add, friend, or follow fans – EVER, and they definitely do NOT message them!

First of all, you know PCH is famous for its big winning moments, where we give lucky winners the surprise of a lifetime! If we were to message the winners before it happened, wouldn’t that spoil the surprise? And you best believe our winning moments are made out of genuine reactions. So, we never contact winners in advance!

“But Will,” you may ask, “what if I won a smaller prize? The Prize Patrol can’t possibly visit every winner of the daily tournament at PCHgames! Won’t they let me know I won?” All PCH prizes are delivered by Express mail, UPS or by the Prize Patrol. We absolutely will not contact you via social media if you’re a winner (or even if you’re not, for that matter).

The reason we take this so seriously is because unfortunately, there a lot of scammers out there. Fans like you are so dedicated and so hopeful that your life can change, and some people want to take advantage of that kindness and enthusiasm. Since social media is relatively new, we’re still adjusting to the digital landscape, so we sometimes see a fake profile or message and hope it’s the big break we’ve been waiting for.

This is the easiest way to know you’re receiving a fake PCH message on social media: they’re all fake. No need to question if a message received from the Prize Patrol on Instagram or Twitter is the opportunity to change your life — now you know it is surely a scam.

If you’re still feeling doubt — don’t. But to ease your mind, there are a few things you can do to really make sure that any Prize Patrol direct contact on Instagram or Twitter is a scam (and again, and I cannot stress this enough all of it is). The first thing you can do is check the user’s profile: all PCH accounts are verified, which means the account will have a little blue checkmark next to it. If you’ve received a message telling you that you are a winner from an account without a blue checkmark, you know it’s a scam. (And I promise you, you will not receive such a message from an official PCH account because we do not contact fans on social media.)

The absolute biggest red flag — and this is from the worst scammers — is any message which asks for your personal information or, even worse, money. Do not give out information to strangers on the internet, and definitely do not send money. At Publishers Clearing House the winning is always FREE.

Like I said, friends, I take this VERY seriously: the thought of your excitement being used to trick you out of money is horrifying. So, if you receive a direct message from someone claiming to be from PCH on social media, remember, it’s a scam!

We want YOU to have the best fan experience here at PCH, so feel free to check out some more of our scam prevention information! And if you think you see suspicious online profiles impersonating PCH, you can always reach us here so we can help put a stop to it!

Thank you!

Best,

Will F.
PCH Creative