Nowadays, the number of fraudulent activities online are skyrocketing and crooks as always are employing names of reputable brands and names to trick their victims. Publishers Clearing House is a legitimate organisation that does viral promotions and giveaways.
However, there are a number of fake pages doing phishing attempts using their name and that’s why the keyword “scam” is being added on the inquiries in the search engines. As it doesn’t look like these types of scams are going to be eradicated any time soon, the best thing we can do is to create awareness about them.
So, to know the enticing traps laid by the people running this hustle and the ways to distinguish them from the real deal, go through our in-depth report.
What is Publishers Clearing House Scam?
As we said before, the Publishers Clearing House by itself is legitimate and trustworthy. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the numerous fraud organisations which are looting the people in the pretext of giving them the prizes.
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In simple words, if anyone contacts you pretending to be the support team of the PCH and asks you to make a payment or enter your banking information, then chances are you are dealing with a scam. There are more traits exhibited by fraud organisations and let us go over them in detail in the following paragraphs.
How to tell a scam from Legitimate mail?
Believe it or not, there are thousands of genuine giveaways carried out on the internet. Sadly, there are literally countless numbers of scams which use the same narrative and are taking advantage of gullible people. Given the current scenario, it is crucial for everyone’s financial safety to be able to tell genuine platforms from the fraud organisations.
In most cases, the signs such as exaggerated claims, fancy offers, too good to be true prizes will be present and will act as a deterrent. However, if you have the slightest doubt and want more clarity, then you should always directly get in touch with the official website or platform.
We have created a quick checklist in order to assist you in determining whether a platform is trustworthy or not and it is as follows.
Approach by Publishers Clearing House – PCH has very specific policies about contacting the actual winners. If you have ever got an email, sms or a message through social media platforms saying that you have won a certain amount and you have to pay fees to access the funds, then know that you are getting robbed.
According to the information provided on PCH website, any amount greater than $500 will be awarded via certified or express letter or in person by the “Prize Patrol”.
Confidential Information and Payments – Sometimes the crooks use the name of PCH to trick the victims into giving up their confidential information. At first, they contact the user via email or sms which will contain cloaked links. If the receiver clicks on it, the url will redirect to a payments page wherein they will be forced towards covering a small fee in exchange for receiving some enticing presents.
Once the end target has entered the sensitive information, the scammer will record all the logs and eventually will wipe the account clean. So, be cautious whenever you are entering banking details online and unless the platform you are dealing with is a trusted one, it is better to use e-wallets.
Note that e-wallets are not completely foolproof, but it will reduce the extent of the damage and help you get more data.
Cheque – The online world is rapidly changing and traditionally speaking, the people who fall for prize scams are the old people. Now, the crooks have changed their approach and by making their offers look realistic, they are scamming all the age groups who have access to a credit card.
Many people have received cheques for significant amounts through mail wherein they are told that by paying a certain percentage of the reward amount as tax or other associated fees, they can withdraw the money. While it’s undeniable that seeing that kind of money will blind you at least momentarily, understand that it is a bogus one and at the end of the day, the only ones to make money will be the perpetrators.
Transparency – All the reputable companies which do giveaways on a regular basis maintain a transparent business model which means they give utmost importance to customer support. After all, transparency and trust goes hand in hand, right?
If you ever get a message through any medium saying that you won any reward, then don’t forget to verify the claim with the official source. Note that, you shouldn’t use the contact information provided in the message as many crooks manipulate the actual details.
Publishers Clearing House Scams on Social Media
Initially, social media platforms were a fun space wherein individuals could interact with one another and share the stuff they like. As time changed, the marketing sector evolved rapidly and as a side effect, the number of fraud activities blew up beyond anyone’s imagination.
Particularly, on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, there are a lot of sweepstakes scams lurking around. Publishers Clearing House does have a verified Facebook page and they have earned themselves a loyal following. However, during our research we found a ton of bogus brands which are mimicking the official PCH page and to the untrained eyes, the flaws are almost undetectable.
Generally speaking, PCH will never notify the winners through a Facebook message and if anyone claims the opposite, then he or she doesn’t have your best interest in their mind. While surfing the web, if you find any suspicious platforms, then do not forget to report the page or the associated channel because the more data the regulators have, the chances of culprits getting caught will increase exponentially.
Have you lost money to a Scam?
A lot of victims of online scams do not know the process of recovering the funds or they are just overwhelmed with the procedures and the confusions involved. Nonetheless, let us assure you that it doesn’t have to be necessarily difficult by any means.
If you are unable to get your money back from any type of entity(firm) online, then all you have to do is collect and organize as much data about the incident as possible and get in touch with us via the form provided below. Provide us with your contact information and we will get in touch with you with all the available options you can take.