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Top 6 PCH Scam Warning Signs

Publishers Clearing House is known all over the country as a well-respected sweepstakes company that changes lives with BIG prizes! We’ve awarded over $280 Million so far, and that number keeps going up! Unfortunately, sometimes scammers lie and say that they’re from PCH with the intent of swindling unsuspecting individuals out of their hard-earned money. Don’t be fooled! While scammers might sound convincing, there are definitely ways to detect a PCH scam. Here are our Top 6 PCH Scam warning signs.

Top PCH Scam Warning Signs

  1. The most obvious warning sign of a PCH scam is if you are asked to pay or wire money to claim a prize. PCH sweepstakes are always FREE to enter, and there are NEVER any fees associated with winning, ever.
  1. Similarly, if someone requests that you put money on a Green Dot MoneyPak Prepaid Card or other money transfer card and give them the card (or the number off the back of the card) before you can claim a prize, they are trying to scam you. Again, Publishers Clearing House never asks for payment of any kind in order to claim a prize.
  1. If someone calls you or contacts you another way to tell you they are coming to award a prize, they are NOT from Publishers Clearing House. The Prize Patrol never calls winners in advance — that would spoil the surprise!
  1. If you receive an email or letter that appears to be from Publishers Clearing House that asks you to call a phone number to claim your prize — DON’T DO IT! PCH doesn’t call winners, and we don’t ask winners to call us.
  1. If you are contacted through Facebook, Instagram our other social media venues by someone who says they are from Publishers Clearing House — they aren’t! While Danielle and the rest of the Prize Patrol post and share photos on social media, they definitely don’t send friend requests.
  1. If you come across a page that looks like it is associated with Publishers Clearing House that hasn’t been verified, it’s not a real PCH page. All the official Publishers Clearing House pages on social media have the blue check mark next to our name, which signifies that our page has been verified.

Our fans mean the world to us, so, educating about scam awareness is a big priority. Please remember these Top 6 PCH Scam Warning signs to help keep safe. And if you think you were contacted by a scammer, please fill out an online scam incident report.

All the best,

Elaina R.
PCH Creative

Other Blogs You Might Enjoy:

Think You Were Contacted By A Scammer?
Beware Of PCH Scams On Instagram – Top 3 Ways To Spot A PCH Scammer!
How To Know If It’s The Real PCH On Facebook

 

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Comments

  1. Andrew Goldberg or whoever claims stole money for me. I am out a lot of money. I w never trust any sweepstakes or grants. They are all scams. This is hurt my pocket book and roommates took advantage of a elderly disabled person and I am disabled too. I want to report this scam as fraud.

    1. Hello Veronica, that is not the real PCH. 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!

  2. I know I’ve been contacted by scammers, they actually contacted me to let me know my name is on a list of winners. I was messaged by Gregory. Before I blocked him, I took down information he gave me. Mibexrid he said Dave Sayer would help me claim. I m not sure of who is working with him…but I took a couple other names that gave me a gut feeling. Bonnie Tucker Alh Sideeq Alabi, Rosilie Sveikila and Amahle Abeni. Gregory seemed very experienced…didn’t miss anything!! Gave me new numbers for upgrade is how put it. Ref # BE6006/5542 TICKET #A0326731BMN/009 Last set of #s must be for upgrade Batch 65ERS10\ONES. I don’t know if any of this is helpful, I hope so. Thankfully Danielle helped me so much, I really appreciate everything she talked me thru. I messaged her all of this to her as soon as I blocked them all…but I blocked her by accident! Go figure, only I would do that! I have to admit, I’m worried about giving my address to them!!I live with my daughter, grandson and son in law. I did a little digging in profiles, then the panic button. I promised not to say a word to anyone, and I wont. I’ve gone so far as to know where the guns are, and my pups are alert. Please don’t think I’m crazy or nuts. Just a mom that knows people that go out of there way to hurt above and beyond. I’m sorry for unloading all of this. I actually contemplated forfeiting. But the damage has been done. If you find anything that I should be aware of, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You people haven’t done anything wrong. I want to thank you all for everything you do. GIVING HOPE TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE.

    1. Hello LaDonna, 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. 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!

    1. Hello Lonnie, Thanks so much for the warning! 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 they ask. 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!

  3. I christina######80@#####l.com.I need uyall to to pay up.what bank and so I can get my winnings.like now I have to move today need my money .or????????