It would appear that I live a sheltered life even on the Internet.
Since when is Publisher’s Clearing House being used as a way to scam people?
At least since 2007 that I could find and I have a feelingit has been much longer. As you’ll see from below the whole things looks legitimate. So much so that people have been sucked into from what I learned when I researched the claim I had just won $1,000, 000 for doing nothing. (see notice below) I had to wonder what this kind of thung does to people who have nothing and what this kind of winnings would mean to them. I find this a very cruel joke.
Found in my own email today was this notice that I was a BIG winner. Only because it was Publishers Clearing House did I even check it out. I was quite perplexed.
It was not until I researched the name of the courier first that I found that as I suspected the minor shipping fee that was stated was my only requirement beyond verifying who I am that I found that the monies are in the hundreds that they are asking for.
What a deal! For the scammer of course. I think of the elderly who may not be as savvy in this new world of scams at every turn. I think of the poverty-stricken whose heart would do a GIANT leap at the thought of being able to buy a home and put food in their children’s tummies and I become enraged!
I am going to ask a favor of you again dear readers. I know that I have gone on record as not a big fan of reblogging. I will not digress on that subject but let it be said that anytime reblogging is being done to forward imperative information that will be useful to the world as a whole and information that helps keep us safe I am all over it. I’ll reblog and ask that you reblog this time as well.
I find this not only extremely distasteful I believe that somehow, someway the authorities should step in. You are even asked by these criminals that you not mention this to anyone yet. hmmm.. I understand that these scammers, especially through the Internet are fly by people and hard to find. Not to mention the fact that they set themselves up in one country while going after another. That really should be your first sign that something is off. I understand that because of these facts it’s hard to bust these creeps, even if they are doing something illegal. I am still rather ticked though.
I just wanted to share with you another way the power of the Internet can impact our lives. In not so good ways. I have recently been talking about the power of WWW.com/org etc..This is proof that even crooks have found this power.
I say lets counter them with reblogging the news that they are scammers, to the point where it would be ridiculous for them to even attempt any longer to scam one more victim, because through the power of WWW we have taken them down!
PLEASE REBLOG ON
In My Email :
OFFICIAL RULES | SWEEPSTAKES FACTS
CONGRATULATIONS!….
Attention: Winner,
I hereby use this medium to acknowledge the receipt of your claims requirement regarding the winning notification mail you received, informing you of the prize you have won PCH LOTTO, after the verification process was conducted I wish to inform you that the lotto department and promotions department has just approved your payment of the sum of ONE MILLION DOLLARS ($1,000,000.00 USD)the check have been handover to a security company in the UK England.The security company will be responsible for the remittance of the entire winnings, and your Lottery Winnings documents which is of high importance to you, so I expect you to show great appreciation to (Publishers Clearing House) PCH LOTTO as a great firm haven been in existence for years and has single highhandedly made this promotion possible in other to promote (Publishers Clearing House) in every corner of the world through the means of the internet as a global source of reaching people world wide.Incase you still have doubts arising from the angle of how you got selected, note that the selection process was carried out through an electronic email ballot system our aim was to select winners through the internet which will be a much more easier way to select winners all around the universe due to the fact that only you alone have access to your email so have no fear , for you have emerged a winner as far as you are the original proprietor to the email account which you have received the winning notification letter as distributed by Michelle I Centeno the lottery manger of this great promotion. .
In furtherance, to begin the final step of the claims process you are advised to contact the Dispatch Company whose details are furnished below and they shall be responsible for onward delivery of your winnings to you and you shall be expected to pay some fees along the line by the security firm for the delivery of your cheque and documents this fees will not be more than normal shipping charges which we feel will not be a problem to you.
Before your winnings was released to security company a hard cover insurance policy was placed on your winnings by the (publishers Clearing House) PCH Lotto company to avoid any harm or illegal channeling due to this, deduction of any amount of money from your funds cannot be done from your Won prize. The instructions given inline with the rules and regulation of the USA and England gaming board once you get your winning funds check you are expected to deposit it in your personal bank account and there is a certain assurance that the entire ONE MILLION USD you have won will be accredited into your account in not less than three to four banking days please note. below is the courier contact information’s.
Contact Information. Elite Couriers®
Address: Farm Road Taplow Berks SL6 0PT, United Kingdom
Contact Name: Mr. James Scott
Telephone Numbers : +447035917037
Write to them via email bellow upon receipt of this mail without wasting time, You are to furnish them with your correct details as listed bellow.
Full Name:
Telephone number:
Postal Address:
Country:
Sex:
Age:
Occupation:
Telephone number:
Postal Address:
Country:
Sex:
Age:
Occupation:
Below Are Your Winning Numbers And Your Email Ticket Number
winning numbers: 4714-34-85-67-32
Email ticket number: FL 754/22/76
Once again, keep us posted on any development with the Dispatch Company, in relation to your lottery winnings.
Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims have been fully processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid multiple claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants.Congratulations once again.
Best Regards,
Mr. Walcot Smith (Claims Officer- P.C.H LOTTO)
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I hope to win $5,000 dollars a week for life from PCH
Hi Cynthia! I hope you do too! Best of luck to you. Remember, it does not cost to win!
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Hi Lady BB, I am not surprised you have been nominated for so many blogging awards. I appreciate the sincerity and directness of our writing. Please accept the following award nomination also, The Sisterhood of the World Blogger. The award details can be found at my blog – http://chronicpainsurvivor.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/blogger-award/
Health & Happiness
Oh Narelle thank you so much dear woman! I am stunned. I’ve seen this award but had not known what the origin was. This just made my day which I really did not know I needed until I received just now from you. I am smiling from ear to ear. I’m coming your way to leave a comment and thank you again for your friendship.
Gentle hugs to you my fine lady ~ BB
These scams are so prolific here in South Africa too and despite much publicity about how to spot/identify them people continue to get caught. It really is a despicable way to prey on desperate people.
Oh optie you so get my main point. It’s those deperate people who will be the victims. Just another way they are victimized. It’s not right and as long as the scammers can find it worth their while they’ll keep on doing so.
I suppose awareness is the answer we have. Which is not a bad thing, but when some of the victims cannot read, write or speak English no better, the pull is too great.
The one’s who do not have a cent to lose end up losing everything they have and own sometimes just to come up with the monies asked to be sent in. Minimal shipping charges mind you. I find the whole thing appaling and think I am going to become their worst enemy.
Thanks so much optie for sharing here, means a lot to me. ~ BB
Hi! My name is Danielle Lam and I am one of the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol Elite members – the team that travels the country and surprise s lucky PCH winners. Sadly, as you saw there are scammers out there who fraudulently use the PCH name to try and scam innocent people out of money. Here at PCH we do everything in our power to educate and protect our fans. We take consumer protection and the fraudulent use of our good name very seriously and go to great lengths to combat these scams and protect our customers. You can read more at http://info.pch.com/consumer-information/tips-a-warning-signs. We also regularly post hints and tips on how to stay safe on our very own PCH blog – http://blog.pch.com/. AND of course you can always ask me on Facebook.
You NEVER need to pay to claim a prize from Publishers Clearing House and the ONLY way you will know if you won a large amount of money is by the Prize Patrol showing up at your door – and we NEVER contact you in advance, it’s a COMPLETE surprise!!
Lastly, if you believe you have been the victim of a fraudulent contact using the name of Publishers Clearing House, please contact us at 1-800-392-4190 or email abuse@pch.com
Sorry for the long reply but I want to make sure everyone knows how to stay safe from these scammers. THANK YOU for posting this blog and urging people to spread the word!!
Thank you Danielle for taking the time to post such a great comment. That a credible PCH representive would find the time to reply to this blog post is quite unusual. I appreciate your effort. And never worry about a long reply, especially when it contains such valuable words. You are always welcome here.
I did hear back from these scammer/crimminal via email after I responded out of curiosity. Their response was too hysterical for words. I thought about posting IT but have opted not give the scammers any more air time.
It was the kindest thing you have done here and I beleive this helps to restore the credibility that peple like these scammers try to take away from Publisher’s Clearing House. I’ll copy this message and include it in a whole new post so that those who miss the comment here will see this reply from you. You are pretty awesome!
This blogging community and I thank you! ~ Barefoot Baroness.
HI! Oh I’m SO thrilled that you saw my comment and thank you so much for taking the time to respond!!!! I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate your efforts to warn others about the scam email you received. I personally deliver the big checks across the country to winners, so I am VERY passionate about Publishers Clearing House since I get to experience the joy PCH brings to their winners first hand. This is my Facebook page if you ever want to come on and say “hi”! http://www.facebook.com/DaniellePCHPrizePatrol . Thank you again Barefoot Baroness and keep up the GREAT work!!!!
Thankfully,
Danielle Lam – Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol Elite
Danielle I must say I was just as thrilled that you saw my blog post. Never in a million years, or the same odds of me winning did I ever imagine my lowly little post would be seen by a credible PCH agent. So my dear THANK YOU!!
I am one of the rare birds that does not paricipate in FB, I would be your number one fan if I did. I do not think that there is enough like buttons that I could click on to show you my appreciation for the time you have taken to write.
I believe what you have done here has helped remove any dirty taste people I know may have had from this scammer. You are a truly valuable asset to PCH and I do hope that they recognize your devotion to them. Having what sounds like a fabulous job, going around the country and knocking on peoples doors, wow! What a great feeling that must be to be part of changing people’s lives. It would change mine hugely and that’s why I find scams like this so upsetting.Desperate people do desperate things, and to send monies away to pay for shipping of your Winngs is absurd.
This is why I had to set the record straight, there are far too many vulnerable people.
Thanks again Danielle, you are a peach in my eyes ~ BB
I have such a HUGE smile on my face reading your reply – you are truly such a lovely person…than you so much for the kind words! I have spoken with the head of the PCH blog, and we would love to feature you in an upcoming post. Just like you did, we often do blog posts about scam protection information for our fans. Featuring what YOU have done in one of our blogs would be a great twist – our fans would LOVE it! If you’re interested please to email me to discuss further (I believe you have it from when I post here). THANKS again for everything BB!!!
Hi Danielle, I’d be honored to be featured on your blog and am quite honored. I looked at our postings and amongst all the contact info fail to find yur email. I could be wrong and it may be there, and I really may just not know what it is I am looking at. I am sorry.
Can you repost your contact info for me?
I’m really flattered that you want to do this. I believed I was just doing the right thing and being pro-active. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you Danielle for making my day! ~ BB
AYYAYAY I’m SO HAPPY to hear that! If you can email feedback@pch.com with your contact information, i’ll reach out to you ASAP. I look forward to hearing from you!!!!!!!!!!
Oh Yayyyyy!!! Be with it forth coming. Thanks! ~ BB
The common thread with all of these is lack of grammar and obviously, English is not the first language. I have also never seen PCH with British spelling on anything. And, obviously, if you didn’t enter, you didn’t win. But read through it- a lot of it doesn’t even make sense.
That should be someone’s first clue something is a miss, but I’ve heard people who need to believe in this because of circumstances makes excuses as to why this is.
The point being that they will see what they want, and ignore away the rest. It’s shameless what these scammers do though, some of the people receiving these messages cannot read or speak English any better.
Thanks so much TikTok for visiting. It’s been awhile. I hope ou are okay. It’s good to have you back. ~ BB
I get a lot of this rubbish and it always looks authentic.
That’s what gets me too, it looks so real. In the non-cyber world there are laws against this.
Thanks so much for stopping in Jules. ~ BB
No wonder people are being fooled. This looks so authentic. But, I like to stop and think: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Good idea posting this.
Apparently there’s a scam at Redbook, the magazine, not the real one. The scammers are telling people they’ve won and get their hopes up…
Hi Tess, yes, that’s my point too. These poor people’s hopes must rise because it does look so real. Even the email verbage sounds real, except if when you read close there are a few errors.
You’re right, if it’s too good to be true…walk away.
Thanks for stopping in, you are always such a welcome sight ~ BB
We have quite a bit of this in the UK and one good thing is the police are trying to do something about it. That address on your post was I believe was raided and closed down or found to be and empty building. There have several programs alerting the public and especially elderly. If you haven’t entered a draw you cannot win, they were telling every one and if it seems too good to be true then it probably is…:) great awareness post…
UYes Gerrym this email did allegedly come from England too. It’s awful the things they can get away with because it’s on the Internet. That would be a great conversation starter for a blog. hmmm..
Thanks as always for being my fan! ~ BB
That’s a scammer using Publisher Clearing House name as bait. They have commented on this at their Facebook page.
Yes, I saw that as an obvious image that they also used so clearly. It’s disgusting.
I am not on FB anymore and would probably have never visited their page. This was just a fluke email I received and just because it bothers me so much because it’s the vulnerable that looks into this and puts all their eggs in a scam basket because of the name.
I thought people here ar WP should know.
Thanks for this, Sis–I just wasted 2 more stamps, sending back my crap in hopes of winning. I had been waiting for a word from God as to whether He would really use this as a means of supporting me–guess you’re His messenger. God bless you abundantly–love, Caddo
I’m so sorry sis, I wish it was not the case. Now this IS from an Internet scam so maybe you should lose complete hope. I think the legal company PCH is credible, but how many win and what the odds are I am not sure.
At least 1 in a million. But only God knows who that one is.
On another note a very good friend’s mother blew through her late husband’s pension and insurance doing sweepstakes and lotto games. Then when she lost everything and had to move in with her son, my friend, she blew through the monies he left her while on the road. It was really a sad time for him. She lost all control and restraint.
God knows that sometimes when things become an addiction, no matter what it is it’s a power that can take over your life and those who love you most.
Well, I’m only out the stamps–and it’s more trouble than it’s worth for the astronomical chance of winning, so it’s not an issue for me; but it’s tough for people who get roped into things that are “too good to be true”.
Exactly!!