Monday, April 29, 2024

How to Recognize Publishers Clearing House PCH Scams

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If you believe a close friend or relative may need assistance with the offers they are receiving, we urge you to contact us. We will provide you with helpful information and take whatever special steps may be appropriate to assist. Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes are legit, but not every win notification from them is.

Other Questions for PCH?

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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. Publishers Clearing House works diligently to fight scams, both by working with law enforcement officials and through public education. If you use it, however, you transmit your information directly to scammers instead.

Member of the Media Trying to Write a Story on PCH?

We hope that our efforts will allow you to feel confident that standing behind our famous “House” logo is a company that cares about people and is committed to doing the right thing for all consumers. Thankfully, a number of people came to the rescue and told the user to stop communicating with the scammers. The user later appeared to confirm getting out of the situation ok. Click on this link and you’ll find all of the different ways to contact us, either by mail, phone or e-mail.

What's the Best Time to Contact PCH?

If you receive an email, phone call, email or letter from Publishers Clearing House saying that you're a big winner, it's easy to get so excited that you do or agree to things that make you vulnerable to money and identity theft. That's why it's important to be able to tell the difference between a legitimate prize win and a sweepstakes scam. Publishers Clearing House cares about consumers and realizes that from time to time there may be a need to provide more detailed help to individuals who have questions or concerns. That’s why we’ve implemented the comprehensive SweepSmarts consumer care program. At the core of this program is our toll free SweepSmarts hotline devoted to providing specialized assistance. Call us with any questions or concerns you may have about our sweepstakes.

Fact Check

The truth is you never, ever have to pay to receive a sweepstakes prize from Publishers Clearing House or any other company. However, you may be notified of smaller prize wins by mail or email, so continue to read the other signs of a legitimate PCH win. 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.

Collectively, LA CLEAR provides these services to state, local and federal law enforcement agencies & task forces within the four counties that comprise the LA HIDTA. This capability has distinguished LA CLEAR as a premier model for officer-safety investigative support. LA CLEAR continues to be at the leading edge in deploying highly trained analysts that utilize state of the art systems and technologies to meet the growing demand for quality investigative support. Do NOT use the telephone numbers or email addresses included in your win notice when you do this step — scammers often include fake contact information to trick their victims. For example, if you call a number in your win notice, you might reach the scammer, not the legitimate PCH organization.

Scammers are adept at making people believe that they are affiliated with Publishers Clearing House when they're not. PCH is a popular target of scams because most Americans are familiar with the company, many have already entered the MegaPrize giveaways, and nearly all want to believe they have really won a prize. But before you pick up the phone and dial us up, or contact us by mail, you should know that there is a huge amount of information about PCH available to you online. Your answer may be just a click away at our PCH Customer Service site. Here are answers to some of our most Frequently Asked Questions.

How to Unsubscribe from PCH Mails or Emails

Publishers Clearing House Scam 2023 - Trend Micro News

Publishers Clearing House Scam 2023.

Posted: Thu, 08 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Big-name sweepstakes sponsors like PCH are a prime target for scammers, who style win notifications to match the branding of the company they're impersonating. On top of the fact that all prizes are awarded in person, Publishers Clearing House does not ask that any taxes or other kinds of fees be paid up front for wiring the money or for any other reason. They also will never ask prize winners to help load their winnings onto any kind of a card.

You Never Have to Pay to Receive a Legitimate PCH Win

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. They never award prizes over the phone, on social media, in email, or through the mail. Additionally, LA CLEAR provides real-time “officer safety” related event, subject/case deconfliction services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the Los Angeles HIDTA which encompasses 255 law enforcement entities.

So do not try to contact Prize Patrol members directly through social media, and be very wary of any requests you get from accounts pretending to be from them. If you prefer not to telephone PCH, you can send questions about potential scams by email to If you receive a scam email, you can forward it to PCH using this contact method, which helps them take action against the scammer. No matter whether a scammer has contacted you by phone, by postal mail, by email or by social media (such as Facebook), we strongly encourage you to fill out the online PCH scam form. When PCH fans find and follow the page, the scammers message them to tell them they've won a prize — and ask for money before they can claim their "winnings." Victims hand over cash but never see a prize. Before you respond to any win notice, especially those from big companies like PCH, take some steps to verify your prize wins. Winning sweepstakes often feels too good to be true — and sometimes, it is.

ALERT: Forrest County reports Publisher’s Clearing House scam - WDAM

ALERT: Forrest County reports Publisher’s Clearing House scam.

Posted: Thu, 09 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]

As you can see, we’re all very excited about our NEW & IMPROVED Customer Service website, at your service 24/7 and so easy to use! Discover how simple it is to get the facts and information you need at the click of a button. There are lots of fun and heartwarming stories from real PCH winners on these social media channels.

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. You may have to fill out an affidavit to verify eligibility if you win, but not when you enter. If the entry form asks for this kind of personal information, it's a sign you are on a spoofed website.

Feel free to use any of these contact methods above to get in touch with our staff and have your questions answered. 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. For tips on spotting a scam yourself, check out How to Recognize PCH Scams. If you are unable to identify the appropriate department and need assistance, the Office of Countywide Communications, can direct you to the appropriate department, agency, commission or committee. The California Public Records Act declares that access to government information is a fundamental right of residents. Los Angeles County is committed to transparency and works diligently to ensure that records that are not exempt from disclosure are available for inspection and copying in accordance with the California Public Records Act.

Many scammers misuse the PCH name, pretending to come from the company when they really come from someone hoping to steal your money or your identity. Some of those scams are sophisticated enough to make it difficult to tell if you've really won or not. Remember, PCH never sends friend requests over social media, nor do they use social media to notify people of any major prize wins. However, be sure that you are following only official PCH accounts on social media. Fake Facebook page scams were such a problem for PCH that they shut down individual social media accounts for their Prize Patrol members.

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