You're a Winner! No, Wait, It's a Scam Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes' envelopes began hitting mailboxes this week. This means scam phone calls and fake mail are soon to follow. The scams that always trail the famous sweepstakes involves a phone call or lookalike letter claiming a big check awaits the recipient.
The scam goes as follows: a caller tells the person answering the phone that he/she has won a prize from Publisher's Clearing House. But first, the person must pay a fee to retrieve the money they have allegedly won.
Publishers Clearing House awards its prizes by a personal visit to the winners' homes and does not charge winners to collect their prize.
What to do: If you receive any phone calls or emails from Publishers Clearing House indicating you have won a prize and need to send money ... don't do it!
Contact Publishers Clearing House directly for information at 1-800-459-4724, Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST or visit their website at
www.pch.com.
To learn more about breaking scams in US and Canada or to report a scam in your area go to
www.bbb.org.