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They never award prizes over the phone, on social media, in email, or through the mail. If you receive a check claiming to be for a legitimate sweepstakes prize and are asked to cash it and wire or send a portion back — STOP — you are the victim of a fraudulent contact. Consumers should always remember that at Publishers Clearing House no payment or fee is ever necessary to enter or claim a prize. If you receive a telephone call from someone claiming you have won a sweepstakes prize and are asked to send money — STOP — you have not heard from a legitimate sweepstakes company. At Publishers Clearing House we do not notify our contest winners by phone.
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Lenders use many different credit scoring systems, and the score you receive with Aura is not the same score used by lenders to evaluate your credit. For added security, consider signing up for Aura’s all-in-one digital security solution to keep your identity and money safe from fraudsters. Even if you’re not asked to pay upfront, there are other red flags to look out for when dealing with a fake PCH award.
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You get a letter telling you that you just won millions of dollars, along with a large check to help you pay taxes and fees. Publishers Clearing House works diligently to fight scams, both by working with law enforcement officials and through public education. Scammers extort money from you in exchange for a promise of a prize that never materializes. The truth is you never, ever have to pay to receive a sweepstakes prize from Publishers Clearing House or any other company. Award-winning identity theft protection with AI-powered digital security tools, 24/7 White Glove support, and more.
Tip 9: If You Believe You’ve Been the Victim of a Fraudulent Contact…
Remember, PCH never sends friend requests over social media, nor do they use social media to notify people of any major prize wins. In reality, the “agent” is a scam artist who will try to convince you to give up personal data in exchange for your winnings. If you comply, the scammer will invent more obstacles that you need to clear before you can claim your prize — such as sending money, information, or both. In some versions of this increasingly popular scam, victims are asked to send their Social Security number (SSN), bank account details, or other personal data — giving scammers everything needed to steal their victims’ identities. However, be sure that you are following only official PCH accounts on social media.

Beware of These 5 Publishers Clearing House Scams
So if you receive notification of a big prize by any method other than an in-person award, you know you're being scammed. If anyone tells you you've won a million bucks from PCH other than the Prize Patrol, you know you can ignore the message. Everything from online PCH Sweepstakes entry processing and how to use your PCH tokens, to when you can expect your order delivered, how to become a PCHSuperFan, and how to manage your account. And if you don’t see a listing for your particular concern, you can always use the Search Feature at the top of the page to type in your question for the results you need. ¹ The score you receive with Aura is provided for educational purposes to help you understand your credit. It is calculated using the information contained in your Equifax credit file.
SweepsSmarts® No Purchase Reminders
In many cases the Publishers Clearing House name or sound-alike name is illegally used. Using a variety of bogus representations including "prepayment of taxes," "refundable deposits," and "shipping &handling," scam artists perpetrating these frauds seek to have consumers forward money. Publishers Clearing House wants to warn you about scam artists sending out real looking checks in an attempt to get you to send money! Scam artists send you an official looking letter claiming to award you a sweepstakes prize. The letter may illegally use the name of a well known company like Publishers Clearing House or a sound alike name in an attempt to build trust.
Publishers Clearing House wants to warn you about scam artists pretending to be the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol or other PCH employees on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. "If someone tells you to pay a fee for 'taxes,' 'shipping and handling charges,' or 'processing fees' to get your prize, you're dealing with a scammer," the agency warned. The Federal Trade Commission says the best way to spot a sweepstakes scam is to look at what the party offering the money asks you to do next. The agency says that if they try to get you to hand over money or send them your account information, it's likely a scam. If you've already sent money to a PCH scammer, contact your local police office. You'll also need to be extra cautious in the future because scammers consider people who have already been scammed to be easy prey, and there's a good chance that you will be targeted again.
Thank you, we want you to know that PCH partners with the Federal Trade Commission and the information we gather from you today will be shared with them which is then shared with law enforcement authorities around the country. Weisman said the scammer on the line claimed to be an official from the Federal Trade Commission, handling the distribution of funds for Publishers Clearing House. She got a phone call that appeared to be coming from Publishers Clearing House, and once again as we've often said, these scammers are able to spoof a number,” explained Weisman. Weisman said if you did win something, lottery organizers would simply take that money out of the final prize payout. For more tips on how to avoid Publishers Clearing House scams, visit the Contest Integrity section of the PCH website, PCH.com.
Publishers Clearing House (PCH) does NOT make or authorize outgoing calls to consumers to sell merchandise or magazines, or to solicit sweepstakes entries. Our major winners are notified by mail or in person (at our option) and we never phone ahead to disclose that someone has won a major prize. The call you received was most likely from a fraudulent sweepstakes scam operation.
Publishers Clearing House (PCH) does NOT send e-mails notifying consumers that they have won a major prize. If you win a major prize in our sweepstakes, the PCH Prize Patrol will contact you in person. For smaller prizes (usually less than $10,000.00), winners are notified by overnight delivery services (FedEx, UPS), certified mail, or email in the case on online giveaways.
Publishers Clearing House Scams: How You Can Avoid Them - GOBankingRates
Publishers Clearing House Scams: How You Can Avoid Them.
Posted: Tue, 10 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
(These offers are not affiliated in any way with Publishers Clearing House!) The letter encloses a real looking check that may appear legitimate. In May 2022, Google and Twitter users were searching for answers after receiving phone calls from scammers who claimed to be affiliated with the Publishers Clearing House (PCH) sweepstakes. The reality here was that the company only notifies winners of their prizes by visiting them in person with their PCH Prize Patrol.
Unfortunately, some well-intentioned coverage of this issue has resulted in headline and text copy that may be misread to indicate that the scam is from the real Publishers Clearing House. Headlines like "Publishers Clearing House Scam", or "PCH Drawing — You May Be a Loser", or "Beware of the PCH Scam" can easily be interpreted as a representation against the real PCH. We please ask that all media reporting on these stories make it clear in headlines and text copy that the scam is being perpetuated by imposters and not the real Publishers Clearing House.
Remember that making a purchase is NEVER required to enter a PCH giveaway and that purchases will in no way affect your chances of winning, so there's no reason to buy anything you don't want. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. “I just wanted to let you know that and if you could report it, that they are scamming people," Tayna said.
Click on this link and you’ll find all of the different ways to contact us, either by mail, phone or e-mail. And there are separate e-mail links to click on, depending on whether your question or concern is related to PCHSearch&Win, PCHGames, PCHLotto, and more. ⁴ Child members on the family plan will only have access to online account monitoring and social security number monitoring features.
At Publishers Clearing House we do not notify major prize winners by e-mail. Again, it’s important that we stress you did not hear from the real Publishers Clearing House. PCH would never request you send money to claim a prize and we never notify major prize winners by phone or mail.