A Forks resident stopped by the Forks Forum office last week to share some information on his recent $1,600,000 win with Publisher’s Clearing House. Only he was suspicious enough to realize it was FAKE. This was not the first time that he had received such a “wonderful” announcement from PCH and he was concerned that others might also be getting these correspondences.
The letter and check (see photo) look legitimate enough and who would not want to cash a check for $12,683.67 to get things started on your million-dollar winnings? But, that activity could get you in big trouble.
One big red flag was he had to pay in order to get his winnings …
PCH provides the information below on their website.
Publishers Clearing House does not operate this way and would NEVER ask for money to claim a prize. PCH employees would never contact you personally or in advance to notify you of a prize award. Our SuperPrize is presented just the way you see it in our popular TV commercials, “live and in-person” by our Prize Patrol, with balloons, bouquet of roses and check in hand and with no advance notification!
Beware of Fake Checks and Bogus Offers
Even though the check is bogus, if you deposit the check, the money may be available to you for a short time. Under federal law, banks make the funds you deposit available quickly – usually within one to five days, depending on the type of check. But just because you can withdraw the money doesn’t mean the check is good. It can take weeks for the forgery to be discovered and the check to bounce. And that’s what the scam artists are counting on. They hope that if you believe the check is real you’ll be willing to send them money back.
If you believe you are the victim of an impostor scam seeking money using the Publishers Clearing House name or logo, please provide us with details by filling out a Scam Incident Report at pch.custhelp.com/app/report_scam.
Publishers Clearing House (PCH) does NOT send e-mails notifying consumers that they have won a major prize.
Publishers Clearing House does NOT make or authorize outgoing calls to consumers to sell merchandise or magazines, or to solicit sweepstakes entries. Our major winners are notified by mail or in-person (at our option) and we never phone ahead to disclose that someone has won a major prize.”
