Publishers Clearing House is the latest name being used by scam artists in an attempt to rip-off unsuspecting residents of northeast Alabama.
WEIS Radio has had a couple of calls reporting the very same thing – homeowners are being contacted by someone claiming to be with Publishers Clearing House – telling them they’ve won a million dollar grand prize; in each case the caller told us the person had an extremely heavy accent, and called himself “Frank”.
They also said they hung up on him because they hadn’t entered ANY contest, including one with Publishers Clearing House.
Con artists have started using the names of reputable, real businesses more and more, in an attempt to make their target feel at ease, thinking “The company has a good reputation, this must be for real,” – but it’s not, because it’s NOT that company. It’s just a scammer, claiming to be with that company. World of difference!
This same scam has appeared across the country at various points in time; it’s nothing new, it’s just another con game.
If you’re contacted by phone, through a letter or even an e-mail OR Facebook message – you can rest assured it’s a scam; for all of their major prizes Publishers Clearing House delivers them with their well-known “Prize Patrol” – and they don’t contact people ahead of time.
And remember, if anyone tells you that you must first send money – for ANY reason – before collecting your prizes – IT’S A SCAM.
And in this case, it’s even posted on the Publishers Clearing House website saying “Winning is ALWAYS FREE!”
OFFICIAL WEBSITE – www.pch.com