St Mary Sheriff: beware of Publisher’s Clearing House scam

Published 4:37 pm Tuesday, February 28, 2023

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office is making people aware pf a scam that has been reported by area residents known as the (Publisher’s Clearing House) PCH Imposters Scam.

The Sheriff’s Office reports that the PCH scam starts with a call or letter saying the recipient has won the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, but to collect the prize the supposed winner has to send money to pay for fees and taxes.

Typically victims are asked to send money by Western Union or MoneyGram, or by getting a reloadable card or gift card. Scammers usually ask for victims to pay this way because it is next to impossible to track the money or get the money back to the victim.

There are other methods PCH scammers will use to try and get money with the PCH scam. Some will send victims a fraudulent check in the mail. Once you have the check, people are told that to claim the prize, the target victim

needs to deposit the check and send some of the money back for made-up expenses. When the deposited fake check bounces, victims will still be held responsible for the money sent.

The PCH scam artists also advise the victim that the security code and prize information must be kept confidential as “required by federal and state law.” This is also false and intended to delay any investigations by local authorities.

There are a few tips to help spot a Publishers Clearing House/Sweepstakes scam:

1. Publishers Clearing House never emails or calls its big winners or sends out winning notices in bulk mail

2. You do not have to give out confidential information when you enter a legitimate sweepstakes

3. You never have to pay to receive a legitimate Publisher Clearing House prize, Scammers always want you to pay to receive your winnings

4. Sweepstakes scams send you a large check with your win notice

5. You can always verify your wins with Publishers Clearing House, so if you believe you have really won something – verify it before giving out any information or sending anyone any money!

6. Sweepstakes scams may ask for bank or credit card info to receive your prize

7. Sweepstakes scams pressure you to act in a hurry

8. If they say that you are a winner in some sort of “lottery” it is usually a scam

9. Sweepstake scams may pretend to come from a government organization.

If you are suspicious of the PCH scam, you can visit Publisher’s Clearing House Fraud Protection page at https://info.pch.com/fraud-protection-2/