then wanted pictures on front and back. Prizes are awarded within eight weeks of final winner selection. utilities They also will never ask prize winners to help load their winnings onto any kind of a card. health Publishers Clearing House Scam Isnt Going Away.WGAL, 25 Jan. 2022, https://www.wgal.com/article/publishers-clearing-house-scam/38886421. Heres what you need to know about these calls. The 1st Phone number was stated to be for Mr. Dave Sayer and the second number was for Mr. Todd Sloane, I know that the 702 number is a Nevada phone number, but the 888 number could be any where. food stamps LOL I have had these calls before but with other things & never call their number but the actual place. All of a sudden he admitted the prize was not real and asked to be my FRIEND. Facebook is an excellent place for sweepstakes fans, but there are plenty of scams that can take place here. My Mom got a call from Publisher Clearing House and they wanted her to buy 2 prepaid credit cards for $500.00 a piece and wanted her to transfer $1,800.00 for an affidavit stamp to Chase Bank, then they will deliver the check for 1.5 million dollars. The catch is that these Publishers Clearing House scams use counterfeit or stolen checks, but when you wire the fees to them (usually via Western Union or Money Gram), those come out of your account that you deposited the funds to. But when the check you deposit bounces even after it seemed to clear you may be on the hook for the money you sent. If you receive a Publishers Clearing House phone call, email, or letter in your mailbox saying that you have won a prize, you can be sure that it is a scam. Scammers dont just scam one person. And PCH is a company that is often misused by scammers, be sure you also know how to recognize a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes scam. Got a phone call from a friendly chap claiming to be an attorney with Cohen Zimmerman & Associates out of Portland, ME. The message says theres something wrong with Its Cyber Security Awareness month, so the tricks scammers use to steal our personal information are on our minds. For information from legitimate Publishers Clearing House social media profiles ensure they have the verified symbol next to their name. How do the Publishers Clearing House scams work? Note: The title was updated on April 25, 2018 to make clear that this blog post addresses scammers impersonating Publishers Clearing House. Letter was signed by Vice President, Susan Williamson. So dont fall for the Check in the Mail scam. Reported and registered do not call list. Scammers will give you a phone number that comes back to them for "verification." . Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. Publishers Clearing House, a limited liability company founded in 1953, is a leading direct-to-consumer company offering a unique blend of curated multi-channel shopping and free-to-play, chance-to-win digital entertainment across a network of web and app-based entertainment properties. We found a number of tweets from people who said they received a phone call from scammers who claimed to be with Publishers Clearing House. Said they sent a mailer. cheap eats Some scammers will even send a fake check for you to cash and wire to them to them for fees. All scammers! I know the real team pride themselves to surprise you at your door!.! This scam starts with a phone call informing you that youve won a cash prize, a new car, or a vacation. JLb:G+A 5H/YZkL1S! Also, you can use the form below. The scam starts with a call or letter saying you've won the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. The second call came from Mr. Miller that I won $2.5 million dollars. There are never any strings attached to winning a Publishers Clearing House prize. She called me and while she kept them on the phone, I called the cops and got in touch with the right person to see if it was a scam. How do I contact Publishers Clearing House? God Bless and Good luck PCH family. Ive got a phone call today from claiming as PCH but very lousy voice saying I won $6.5M and will be deliver to my house today. The reality here was that the company only notifies winners of their prizes by visiting them in person with their PCH Prize Patrol. Research before responding. Ive got a phone call today from claiming as PCH representative and I was picked to win .10.5 Million Dollars and I was to contact PCH at one of the following phone numbers. How are PCHRewards Token Exchange Winners notified? But the letter and check looked legitimate.. 0000017226 00000 n If you have already sent your money to a Publishers Clearing House scammer, you should contact your local police station. 01388548677 Reports: 5 / 01 Mar. Answers others found helpful How do I cancel my PCH merchandise order? I even told them that I was going to call PCH directly to confirm the conversation & he came up with a line that PCH will not confirm the winners number as it could be someone else calling instead of me & said to call the number he gave me. 0000010639 00000 n Blocked him yet he used another number to call. WE PAID A TOTAL OF $ 47,400.00 AND HE WAS ASKING FOR $90,000.00 WHICH WE DID NOT HAVE. Contact the company directly and make sure youre not getting scammed., For added security, consider signing up for Auras all-in-one digital security solution to keep your identity and money safe from fraudsters., 10 Common Types of Financial Fraud & Schemes (With Examples). 876-293-9912. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. I did not give any bank account or credit card info to him. SNAP veterans. Then they use this content to target people who follow the PCH page and inform targets that theyve won. We wont post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups. there in my state now 4-15-22 . Fraudsters use the promise of life-changing winnings to persuade you to send them money or provide sensitive information that they can use for identity theft and fraud.. The scammers told the potential victims that all they needed to do to was pay taxes and perhaps other fees in order to wire the huge cash prizes to their bank accounts: At least one Twitter user tweeted about being duped by the Publishers Clearing House phone scam, calling it a "nightmare": Thankfully, a number of people came to the rescue and told the user to stop communicating with the scammers. I have called a number which I thought was Mr. Sayers and have not received a call back from him. To Email Us: For PCH.com, please click here. Verify your win. What if I'm not home when the PCH Prize Patrol comes? Good luck, PC H customers, and players!.! They say, "Congratulations, you've won a million dollars, a Mercedes-Benz, and seven thousand dollars a week for life!" or some other amazing sounding prizes. They then steal logos and photos of the Prize Patrol members, the PCH color scheme, and other information in order to make their page look real. Results based on a 2022 mystery shopper consumer study conducted by ath Power Consulting. I got a call from someone today claiming to be from Publishers Clearinghouse telling me I won 5.5 million dollars, $10,000.00 a week and a brand new Mercedes with the AMG package. People please be very careful! The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. If you are confused about whether your win is legitimate, contact Publishers Clearing House directly to ask them if they can verify your prize. Whether it's the grand prize or a smaller prize from any sweepstakes or business, you never have to. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. After sending you a fake check in the mail, scammers then ask you to pay for lawyers fees or insurance. When the bank discovers that the check is fake, it will withdraw the amount from your account. These checks are not legitimate and just a part of the fraud. To contact us by mail: Write to us at the following address: To call us, please call us at 1-800-566-4724. Have you heard about it? They are also well known for their Win $5,000 a Week for Life prize advertisements. An official website of the United States government. We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Of course, a little bit skeptical about how is that just simple to win such big chunk of money with no effort at all. %PDF-1.7 % For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy. If you receive a win notice claiming to be from a company like Publishers Clearing House or Microsoft, but the email arrived from a free account, you can be sure that you're dealing with a sweepstakes scam. The authentic Publishers Clearing House Company will never state any such information to anyone. Let your family and social media friends know about the PCH Sweepstakes Scam by sharing this article online. PCH OFFICE LOCATION New York - Long Island 300 Jericho Quadrangle, Suite 300 . These should be red flags for any kind of prize claim! How to avoid Publishers Clearing House scams, How to contact the Publishers Clearing House directly. Well nobody ever arrived at his house and he surely did not get $7,000 a week for life. You get a call from someone who says theyre from Publishers Clearing House or some other well-known organization. Each call received by Publishers Clearing House is answered by a recorded greeting that includes a reminder that the "winning is always free." For those who would like to hear more, a prompt is provided that offers callers additional educational information and warnings regarding bogus offers that may request payment to claim a prize. Here are a few tips that you can keep in mind when trying to spot the difference between the fake and the real PCH sweepstakes. How to protect your personal information and privacy, stay safe online, and help your kids do the same. They copy the real organizations exact style and format to make it seem like the PCH letter, email, or call is authentic. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission. One of those scams was 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle, which touted a proven business model and told Scammers are calling people and using the names of two companies everyone knows, Apple and Amazon, to rip people off. He never called me bank and only has the name of my bank. If you have received a PCH phone call, email, or letter you are not one of the winners. If you complete a purchase using one of our links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Report PCH imposters or check to see if you have actually won at 800-392-4190. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); An example of the Publishers Clearing House scam was reported by a victim as follows: I got a letter from the Publishers Clearing House saying that I am eligible for a prize. Looks like a legit walmart survey. Then I got another letter saying I was such a good customer that they were upping my prize to $125,000.00 check and they had upped my lifetime They may be compensated as a marketing affiliate of Aura, but their ratings are all their own. The call had several delays and sounded like an international call. Full access to plan features depends on identity verification and credit eligibility. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. This causes it to be flagged and take longer to go through the system giving them more time to get away with their scam. Email: edwardwolfe1990@gmail.com. The real Publishers Clearing House says it will never ask you to pay a fee to collect a prize. A Publishers Clearing House phone scam went around again in May 2022. This post may contain affiliate links. 1. What to know when you're looking for a job or more education, or considering a money-making opportunity or investment. I have won more prizes (fake) than I can count. You never would have to make any purchases to claim a prize and purchasing will not increase your chances of winning.