SSFPD Media Release: Publishers Clearing House Scam

South San Francisco, CA   November 14, 2014    Submitted by SSFPD 

On November 2, 2014, a South San Francisco resident received a letter in the mail from Publisher’s Clearing House saying he had won the third place 1.5 million dollar prize. Inside the envelope was a check for $6520.90 and instructions to call his claim manager, Dominic Wilson. The resident called the phone number listed for Wilson and was told to cash the check. The resident deposited the check and was then instructed to withdraw $5800.00 in cash the next day. The resident became suspicious and went to the bank where they confirmed the check was fraudulent. The resident believed the check and letter were suspicious and contacted the police. The suspect had an African foreign accent and the phone number he was calling from was associated with Toronto, Canada (647 area code).

Anyone believed to have received a check is encouraged to contact their bank prior to depositing the check to verify it is not fraudulent. Here are some tips published by Publishers Clearing House on how to avoid being a victim of this scam;

1. If you’re required to wire or pay any amount of money in order to claim a prize, it’s a Publishers Clearing House Scam. PCH sweepstakes are ALWAYS FREE to enter, and there is never any fee associated with winning.

2. If you’re asked to load up a Green Dot MoneyPak or other money transfer card, in exchange for claiming your prize, it’s a Publishers Clearing House Again, PCH will NEVER ask you to pay a cent to collect a prize.

3. If someone tries to contact you in advance regarding a prize delivery, it’s a Publishers Clearing House Scam! After all, that would ruin the surprise! For decades, our Prize Patrol has captured the elated reactions of surprised winners and used them in our nationally-televised You’ll know you’re a big PCH winner if you see the Prize Patrol at your front door holding a “Big Check” with your name on it!

4. If someone calls you on the telephone claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House and says you have won, it’s a Publishers Clearing House Do NOT give them any personal information! As stated above, the Prize Patrol awards all our Big Prizes in person and would never call you to update any personal information in our files.

5. If someone claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House tries to send you a friend request on Facebook, it’s a Publishers Clearing House Even if they are using the name and photo of a prominent PCH employee -do NOT believe them. Our PCH employees and official PCH Prize Patrol Fan pages will never give message you on Facebook.