The sweepstakes scam starts with a phone call from someone claiming to be a Federal Marshal or another type of law enforcement agent. They tell the person who answers the phone that they are from the PCH Prize Patrol, and they are going to deliver a prize of $90,000 or more to their home. They just need the so-called winner to wire them some money first to cover "insurance."
This has already struck two of my Top Warning Signs of Sweepstakes Scams: warning sign #1, "Sweepstakes Scams Require You Pay to Receive the Prize" and Warning Sign #10, "Sweepstakes Scams Can Pose As Government Organizations."
If a real law enforcement officer does call your home, you can always ask for a name, department, and badge number, and call to verify that the officer is legitimate, according to Channel 9's article. I'd add that you should be sure to look up the number of the law enforcement agency yourself. It's easy for a scammer to get a friend to pose as a supervisor to verify his story.
Publisher's Clearing House also offers a phone number you can call to verify whether you've really won a prize. You can find it in my Publisher's Clearing House FAQ.
In addition, remember that the Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol does not include law enforcement officers. Federal Marshals do not call people with win notifications. And most of all, you never have to wire money to anyone to receive a legitimate prize.
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Comments
PCH adverised all summer, 100,000 per week for 1 year drawing to be held 8/13/2009, winners announced on NBC/ CANT FIND OUT WHO WON, IF THIS WAS SCAM, PLEASE FIND OUT/
Yes, I am also wondering about the $100,000 per week contest that PCH advertised so much this summer. Wasn’t that particular prize supposed to be awarded on August 14, 2009? Also, how are the winners actually chosen? It seems the winners are always people who already own nice homes, nice cars, etc, while you never see a desperately poor, disabled person who lives in a tiny apartment chosen as the winner. Oh, I was happy for the winners in Boise and I’m glad they didn’t lose their home.
and why is there never a sweepstakes winner from anywhere but up North?
Cebra, you might want to check out the PCH Winner’s Circle. There are winners from Texas, Tennessee, Florida, and many other non-Northern states. Good luck!
I was called by a Brandon Cane who id himself as prize claim official with Publishers clearing House. He said I won $285,000.00. He was very convincing – a real actor. The next day I was called by an Eric Hayes, who id himself as a US customs agent at an airport in NJ. He said my check came from Lloyds of London bank through Costa Rica and I needed to pay $2,850.00 to have it delivered. These people are well rehearsed and cover all questions people will ask. They are professional scam artists. The FBI knows them – Public Beware! Report all the phone numbers to your local police station.
I received a cell phone (202-391-0970) call from one Robert McCartney,who identified himself as an agent from immigration/justice department. He said that there was a pkg at JFK from Publisher Clearing house worth over $600,000. and I should call Larry Fulton 718-285-7922 for instuctions. After all of my questions he gave me number 516-203-4699 to call PCH. He said they will continue to call until Larry hears from me. I told him that I was taking all of this info to the local police Dept for them to check is out.
Congratulations on spotting the scam, Pat! I’m so glad you didn’t fall for it.
I too received a call from that same (202-391-0970) number today, but the officers name was a Stephen Baker who left a message. I didnt know where the area code was from and why an officer would be calling me from there. Thank you, Pat, for posting your comment and that number. Now theres no need for me to call that number back.
i think pch is a bunch of crap?
I received a call yesterday from a gentlemn(?) who said he was David Brooke and frm PCH. He said I had wno 495,900, and gave me anumber to cdall that he said was PCH to verify his emply,ent there. I called and a guy answered and said yes, he was employed at PCH. David Brooke said I would recvie a package today via Fed Express with my check. Today, I rec. a call from a Micheele who said she was a customs agents atJFK INTERNATINAL AIRPORT ADN A PACKAGE ARRIVED FROM E WITH A CHECK OF 495,000. AND ALL i HAD TO DO WAS PAY A 1% FEE TO GET IT. tO GO TO MYCOMPUTER WITH A CREDIT CARD AND SHE WOULD NFORM ME HOW TO WIRE TRANSVER THE MONEY. SHE ALSO WAS VERY CONVINCING. Who can do something to stamp this out….Poor folks who are gullible. I asked could I call her back and she gave me a song and dance. Older folks beware!!!!!
Yeasterday I was contacted by phone by a John Toro (516) 300-1663 and stated that he was an agent with PCH and was notifing me of winning $ 495,000.00. He was very well rehersed and very conviencing. He said that the check would arrive by Fed-ex between 10:00am and 2:00pm. He then went on to give me check number and a claim number that I would have to verify with the Fed-ex delivery person. He went on to give me Customer dervice number of (888) 260-9479. Then recieved a phone call the next day at 10:00 from a Jennifer Hayes (972)363-1005 advising she was with customs in Dallas Ft Worth at the airport and that my check was being held in customs because it was missing important documentation and that this documentation would cost me 1% of the total winnings before the check could be released due to it comming from an off-shore bank.
She went on to tell me that I could fly to DFW airport and take care of this or transfer money from bank or pay here locally when the check arrives. Beware everyone DONT FALL PREY TO THIER GAME!!
Billie, I’m so glad you recognized the scam! That really illustrates why it’s important to verify wins using a direct phone number to the company, not by a phone number given to you by someone telling you about a prize.
I have a list of places where you can report sweepstakes fraud. One of them may be able to help you alert the proper authorities.
Good luck!
Sandra
I’ve just cleared away this same exact scam, it’s been reported to the NFIC and the FTC. Wish I could have really won that $495,000 though =/.
Beware, two women with Jamaican accents who say they’re from PCH state that you have won 995,000 dollars and a Mercedes Benz. A Ms Miller and a Anderson Reed.?? Ms. Miller states that she’s from Global International with an ID # of 1102. They want you to go to a Western Union and transfer $299.00 to Kingston Jamaica to receive a receipt so they can show up to your door with the prizes!…………Yeah right! They are very persistant, calling 20 times a day! They are targeting elderly people, so pass the word around!
I had a message on my answering machine saying that they were from the Publisher’s Clearing House and I had won a prize. The phone number they left was 516-490-8827.
I didn’t bother to call it because I can’t trust it since the call would be long distance.
An internet search said that phone number was located in Hicksville and Nassau New York.
These scammers are targeting retirees. Where are they getting the phone numbers? AARP, the US govt. Social Security Office???
I am very weary of having to give my credit card # to receive a pto receive a prize, but since entering searches for the PCH I have been called 3 x about winning a $100 gas voucher but have to give my cc for postage!! No way. $2,95!! Don”t think so
My mother got a call today from a john maxwell acting to be an employee of PCH saying my mom won 450,000 a plasma tv and a mercedes benz. he asked to cover shipping to wire 300 through wester union. he also gave a name an address to where the money would be sent. a looked up the address it was an insurance brokage comapny and i called the number it displayed some old woman answered the phone, no business line what so ever. he kept calling and calling he asked if i did the transfer yet and i said yes and gave him a bogus reciept number. i really hate people why do they do this to people some people are going to fall for this. it scares me to think someone will be dragged in and hung out to dry .
I got a call today, notifing me of a PCH win, blah, blah checked w/PCH, they do not call you, a car pulls up and surprises you. Larry Miller @ 516-874-0931 called and said I’d get a check from Lloyds of London tomorrow for $228,000. He wanted my birthdate and e-mail address, so I’ll post if anyone else calls or shows up. Oh got a call from another guy, I didn’t answer and he didn’t leave a message, so I called back and he was like Holly you entered a sweeps for a vacation, said not Holly and no to sweeps, he told me it was the wrong # then, yeah right, reported to police and other authorities, wanted to post so others will see this.
just received my 25 call in one month. Now they want a phone card for $200 and they will bring me $500,00 from PCH I must have the phone card by 5pm so they can deliver the money. Looks like someone could stop these people. I am a senior.
My 74 year mom just received the same exact series of calls $285,000. Initial call from a Allison 516-209-2056. Next day from Dallas Ft. Worth Airport Mr. Cornell 972-294-6931. Thinking posing as a Federal Agent customs agent would carry more weight than local police.
PCH doesn’t call to say you won. They don’t e-mail to say you won. They don’t ask for money up front to claim a prize. You don’t money gram or Western Union anything. Those who demand that are the scammers. You don’t have to buy anything so stop buying. Yo don’t have to pay for anything to collect. If it says no purchase necessary why do people still do it! I don’t. I’ve been playing it for 20 years. It keeps me occupied and I don’t their lotto, don’t do any surveys, don’t pay for anything. I move tickets around when that graphic page comes up. When they send me to an affiliate I close it and buy nothing. Anyone who pays up front for anything they’ve ‘won’ is being scammed. If they say you have to give them money in a foreign country, well duh it’s a scam. Don’t pay for anything up front to claim any winnings. Simple as that. They say no purchase necessary, a purchase won’t help you win. Stop buying. It’s long shot odds you’ll win.
I received today July 22, 2011, a letter from ANC out of Kansas City. Ks. They said I was ythe winner of $2,000,000,00. However, due to an oversite, I had not paid for a item, they wanted. $12.99 to be sent immediately or my CC Account, or Postal Order. Turns out ANC is AWARD NOTIFICATION COMMISSION. North Amercan Division.
I have been involved with PCH for a couple of months, so got a bit excited then slowed down. A while ago I received another Official Mail Delivery, I pulled it out of the stack of PCH info. Same address in Kansas as listed on new official we want payment form for the $$$ to be sent. I will call PCH tomorrow, though I know this is a scam. May call the police, too.
I was also notified, by mail, that I had won PCH’s contest and copy of my check for $2,600,000.00 was attached. I was instructed to call my winner claim agent to claim my prize. I noticed that I would have to place an order when I talked with the agen t, which, as we all know,is not required by PCH.
Just got a got on my cell advising me that I won $450,000.00 from Publishing Clearning House. We were among the 4 people who won. Just go to the Westin Union and pay $405.00 to claim our prize. His name was Kevin Kertis. We asked for a call back number which he got nervous in giving it to us, but we told him we wanted to verify the call. The number is 1-876-891-9310. We called the number using another number and a James Johnson answered and said yes you were just talking to my agent Kevin. Now how did he know that especially when we call from another number. This James guy was a little upset that we were asking him questions, like what is our winning number. We told him this is a scam and he said that they are regulated with the Federal. Beware this is a scam! Publishing Clearning House and any other company will not ask you for monies if you won some.
I work for Publisher’s Clearing House and can guarantee it is not a “scam” in the legal, official sense of the word. What it is doing (trust me, everything is run through the legal department before going out) is sending out extremely misleading advertising and contests promotions. For instance, you get a mailer that says “You are on the short list and closer to your goal of blah blah blah”. What it fails to mention is the “short list” is every single person who has responded (usually for main contests in the hundreds of millions or our las t giveaway (GWY 1400) had odds of 1 in 1.7 Billion (with a b). Also, draw date and end date of contests are not the same. They pull one SuperPrize number on draw day, and since most ppl throw our mail away (a reason we send so much, knowing the winning number will probably be tossed) more often than not the “winning number” has not been returned so no one wins anything. They can do this for years (check the end dates, they are all in 2015 etc…). and then they just re-advertise it as a different payout which sounds different but it’s the same lump sum. Coupons (for a % off etc…) DO NOT need to be sent back, they simply “inform” the customer the stuff is up to %50 off., even though the coupon has perforated edges and a lil pic of scissors showing you where to cut. MISLEADING AS HELL! Same with Bonus points, don’t mean dick. Scratch n Win cards? Nope, all sent back to us to be put in a draw with odds of 1 in 905,000. Don’t waste the stamps. Cust number is 1-800-645-9242
we got a call today , from a guy claiming to be don cooper from publishers clearing house out of california , said we won 1 million $ , all we had to do is pay 850 $ today , i knew right away it was a scam , so i acted l;ike i was real exited , i played with this guy on the phone for about 45 minutes , i could not believe he actualy gave me his number , 559-478-1747 , icalled it bk and it was him on the recording , what a dummy
We got a call today, from a guy claiming to be John green from publishers said we won 2.5 million $. all we had to do is pay $150. today , he went on to tells us all information about us, it was very scary assured that this was 100% ..he gave us his number 1-876-305-2661 ..He keeps calling and telling us they will bring the check and a new care as soon as we have the money order for $150.00 and that it will be refunded once all the paper work is done. Call back and he answer…but when he gave me the address to make out the check I was not sure this was real. This is the name he wanted the check made ou to : STEVON JARRETT –11 MARK ST., jAIMAICA wi, MONTIGO BAY. , THIS IS SO SCARRY SPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE ALL YOUR INFORMATION……
That is scary, David! I’m sorry to hear about that call.
Just received a call from a man stating he’s from PCH and a check could not be released until the government put their seal of approval on the check because of the large sum. This seal of approval would cost $150. I could hear a kid in the background yelling. When I said I was going to call PCH to verify the guy hung up on me. How rude! I wanted to keep him on the phone and mess with him back. Anyway here’s the number this homebody called from 702-900-9569.
Just this morning I was contacted by “an agent with the Federal Trade Commission, in Washington, DC.” – Bruce Jennings, and notified that I had won $350,000. He gave me his return phone number (202) 509-0692), and he even gave me another toll free number to call (1-866) 221-4894, that was supposed to be the verification department of Publisher’s Clearing House. I called, and it was of course verified by “Wendy Smith” that I was a winner.
WARNING!!! These people are VERY cunning. He had a long speal about the law, and how it is illegal to pay anyone in order to be paid. YET, when it came down to it he wanted me to send money via Western Union to some guy in Costa Rica that was supposed to be a U.S. attorney! He claimed it was a “refundable registration & insurance, collateral deposit” that is required by law.
NEVER SEND MONEY TO ANYONE IN ORDER TO COLLECT YOUR WINNINGS!…
OMG- as I was writing this that Bruce Jennings just called me back to get the Western Union tracking number so that his henchman can pick up the money somewhere in Costa Rica!!! I won’t repeat here what I told him- bad language.
I just received a call from micheal Henry (really).at 876-884-5788…and I was the winner of 18.5 million dollars from Publishers Clearing House. Very broken english and was difficult to understand. Really dont understand what he wants I asked lots of questions and told him I didnt think PCH called there winners. He said I needed to be there at 3:30 with my DL and that there would be federal agents and all. I told him I feel this is a scam and I would be calling PCH to verify this info. He told me to call him back. Wow scary
I have been called repeatedly by so called Federal agents, telling me that my mum has won $2000,000. They start by telling me that they are from the PCH.The last time, I told them that my neighbor is anFBI investigator( true) & I would check out his name & badge number. He still persisted in giving me instructions on paying insurance for the money that was coming from Vegas.My mother & father ,in the last 4 years, have lost all their money,a house in England , they then took out a reverse mortgage on our house in Florida. They were so desperate for money to pay me back(I had been paying all there bills,but never asked for it back) that when a guy called them & said they had won $1,5000000, they got excited. They wired around $100,000 to an account that vanished straight after. That was the end of the reverse mortgage.Since then my dad passed away( he had Parkinson’s & the stress killed him) & my mum fell & had bleeding on the brain needing emergency surgery. She’s now in a nursing home. They were 81&82 years old when this happened.These scammers killed my dad & wrecked my mums life.Please, DO NOT LISTEN when someone calls or e mails you & tells you you have won millions!!!
Just received a call from a man stating he’s from PCH and a check could not be released until the government put their seal of approval on the check because of the large sum. This seal of approval would cost $150. I could hear a kid in the background yelling. When I said I was going to call PCH to verify the guy hung up on me. How rude! I wanted to keep him on the phone and mess with him back. Anyway here’s the number this homebody called from 702-900-9569
I got a call from this guy today, too… Should I report it to the authorities?
My husband and I have been getting calls — several of them — usually won’t answer, but occasionally do. Anyway, a John Baker with a Jamacian number — 876-568-8658 called me 3 times one day. Last call was at 11″41 PM. I was trying to tell him it was a scam & he kept saying “sweetheart, listen” — well, a business caller wouldn’t say that either. I sent a note to the Fed. Trade Comm. Baker said prize was from Coca Cola and he was investigating for Lords of London Ins. Co. I kept asking questions. First call he wouldn’t even give me his number tho. Was wanting me to go to Wal-Green or somewhere & get a card and then call him back. I asked how much card would cost & he said $155. I hung up on him at every call. This was last week. Then yesterday (3/19) recv’d call for my husband – this guy said he was John Bishop & from Washington. Phone number was 509 -671-9824 and after ck’ing this number out YES definitely scam also. What can we do to stop this nonsense. I know not to give to them, but it is harrassment.
Maybe PCH should send certified mail announcements to notify winners.
Terry, for any big prizes, PCH comes in person or delivers the news by certified mail. ANY time you get a PCH “win” notice by email or phone for a prize worth more than $500, it’s a scam.
I received a call today claiming to be PCH saying i won $855,000 i just needed to send a processing fee in the d amount of 50.00 to Sheldon Williams montigo bay st. James Jamaica. Claimed a marshal would be at my house in half an hour with many check. Couldn’t even tell me my address. Stupid……