How to avoid sweepstakes scams
FTC: 330,000 reports submitted of imposter scams in 2023
(InvestigateTV) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that imposter scams were the top type of fraud in 2023, with scammers nabbing $2.7 billion from consumers by posing as government agencies, financial institutions, and reputable businesses.
Publishers Clearing House is just one company scammers use to con consumers.
Chris Irving with Publishers Clearing House (PCH) said they are setting the record straight by doing everything they can to educate people on the uptick in sweepstakes scams happening over the phone and on social media.
“Our name, and the name of many big companies right now are being used by these imposters,” Irving said.
Irving explained that imposters will typically call someone, claiming to be a Publishers Clearing House employee, and tell them they have won a big prize such as a car or $1 million.
That excitement is soon lost when the caller tells people they must first pay a broker’s fee or an “IRS requirement” to collect the prize.
The scammer may also tell people to purchase a gift card and provide them with the numbers on the back, send money to a specific bank account or mail it to an address in another state.
“Well, let me give you some quick tips, and the most important tip to start out with is that Publisher’s Clearing House or any legitimate sweepstakes, there’s never any request to pay money, to pay taxes to pay a fee or get a gift card to win a prize,” Irving explained. “If you win a prize, it’s totally free! No strings attached!”
He said any taxes are between the winner and the IRS. Winners do not have to give money away in order to get a prize.
Another red flag Irving mentioned is if people get a call saying you’ve won but to keep it confidential. If this happens, hang up.
“If you win a prize at PCH we want you to tell everybody about it!” he said.
He also advised to be on the lookout for any misspellings or typos in announcements or communication.
“If it’s from us, it would look official,” Irving noted. “There wouldn’t be typos. There wouldn’t be errors like that.”
And remember, if people haven’t entered the sweepstakes contest, they can’t win, So, don’t believe messages out of the blue promising prizes.
Experts urge anyone who comes across a fake sweepstakes company to report it so officials can put a stop to the fake schemes.
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