PCH Scammers Are No Joke — Don’t Be Fooled Today or Any Day!
Today is April Fools Day, and it’s supposed to be a day of fun, harmless pranks between friends.
Unfortunately there are PCH scammers out there who are determined to make fools of us all — and it’s not all in good fun, either. Some people are out to get your hard-earned money by tricking you into believing that if you send them money or valuable information to enter a contest, you will win or claim an exciting prize. They will use their tricks of the trade through the mail, over the phone, by e-mail or on social media sites like Facebook.
We’ve heard of a few recent scams from our fans that we thought we would share. Beware of anyone calling and asking you to purchase magazines via credit card in exchange for a prize. Publishers Clearing House does not have a telemarketing division and does not sell magazines over the phone. We would NEVER ask you to buy something, pay a fee, or pre-pay taxes in order to collect or claim a sweepstakes prize.
Beware of any phone call from a PCH scammer telling you that you need to go and buy a prepaid card to pay a special “insurance” or “tax” before claiming a prize. DON’T BE FOOLED: IT’S A SCAM! The scammer will ask you to give them the number located under the scratch-off strip on the back of the card. Once you give them the number over the phone, your money will be gone for good. These scammers are fraudulently using the PCH name. They are NOT from PCH and have no affiliation with the REAL Publishers Clearing House. They have NO intention of awarding any prizes because they are scammers!
And if anyone contacts you on Facebook claiming to be a member of the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol, REPORT and BLOCK them right away! They are scammers! The REAL Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol members do NOT send out friend requests on Facebook. Here’s a helpful tutorial on how to report Publishers Clearing House scams on Facebook.
The number one lesson you need to take away from this blog is this: All legitimate sweepstakes are FREE TO ENTER, PLAY and WIN. You NEVER have to pay a fee or provide any money to enter, win or receive a prize that you have won from Publishers Clearing House.
If you think someone is trying to scam you, take these simple steps:
- Stop! Don’t provide a potential scammer with any money or information
- Report the scam to your local consumer protection office.
- Visit our PCH Customer Service center to get more useful information on protecting yourself from fraud.
If you feel you have been the victim of a Publishers Clearing House Scam, please fill out our Scam Incident Report.
If you have other questions regarding scams and fraud, here is another good resource.
I hope this blog has been helpful. As always we invite you to visit pch.com, PCHSearch&Win and PCHgames to claim exciting opportunities to win. And rest assured, at the real Publishers Clearing House, the winning is ALWAYS FREE!
Stay safe out there and don’t let any PCH scammers fool you!
Jane M.
Creative Dept.
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