Publisher's Clearing House Scams
02/12/2025
Publisher’s Clearing House Scams
When scammers impersonate legitimate businesses, government agencies, and entities, it can make it that much harder for the everyday consumer to discern what is a scam and what is real. Publisher’s Clearing House (PCH) is a well-known and legitimate sweepstake; however, they are also a frequent target of impersonation scammers. Let’s take a look at how you can know whether or not you are speaking with the actual business or an impersonator.
Sweepstakes impersonators will employ many tactics to get into contact with potential victims. Unfortunately, many sweepstakes impersonators target senior citizens and other more vulnerable demographics for their fraud. They may try to contact you over the phone, through email or text, or through the mail.
But how do you know who is legitimate and who is a fraud? Here are some general things to remember when it comes to sweepstakes, giveaways, and lotteries:
- You must enter the sweepstakes to be eligible to win. All giveaways, sweepstakes, and lotteries require you to enter to win. If someone reaches out to you and claims you have won a prize for a sweepstake you have never entered, it is a scam.
- There is never any payment, fee, or tax required to be collected to claim or receive a prize. If someone claims you must send a check, purchase gift cards, or hand someone cash in order to claim the prize, it is a scam.
- Publisher’s Clearing House, specifically, will not contact winners in advance to notify you of winning. Their winners are always “presented just the way you see it in our popular TV commercials, ‘live and in person’ by our Prize Patrol, with balloons, bouquet of roses and check in hand — — and with no advance notification!” (PCH.com). If someone calls you or you receive a letter in the mail informing you that you have won a PCH sweepstakes, it is a scam.
If you cannot remember if you entered a sweepstakes, our best advice would be to cease contact with who you are speaking to and reach out to the company at a trusted number. They will be able to tell you whether you actually won a prize or not. For PCH, you can reach out to them directly at 1-800-459-4724 to confirm any prizes.
Lastly, if you believe you have been contacted by someone impersonating PCH, or other sweepstakes, you can report the attempt directly to the company. If you gave out personal identifying information or sent money, please report to the applicable entities. The impersonated business, your bank, or the authorities may be able to help avoid further loss.
Unfortunately, scammers will use the excitement and hype of possibly winning a lot of money in order to scam their victims and will do anything necessary to get money from them. Always remember you cannot win sweepstakes you never entered in the first place.
Sources:
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/12/hang-pch-impersonators