BALTIMORE — Anyone would welcome an influx of cash, especially during the holidays, but don't get too excited if you're mailed a winning letter for a lottery or sweepstakes.
Thomas Johnson recently received one.
“I looked at it and was like, wow, I’m a winner,” said Johnson.
The letter stated he’d won $450,000 in a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes and provided details on how he could claim his prize.
“And it was very interesting because it had a health care address on it, or it was coming from a health care organization, and who’s not trying to save on health care? So, I pretty much opened it and then I saw a check. And I saw it was Publishers Clearing House,” Johnson recalled.
Johnson thought it was peculiar the envelope didn't say Publishers Clearing House, then he figured it was by design.
“We want to keep it a secret because you're a big winner. And you don't want, you know, family members saying, hey, remember me?” Johnson said.
The letter also told him to keep his prize a secret, to text a number to begin the verification process, and to be aware that by law he'll need to pay taxes and processing fees before his winnings are mailed.
“This letter that you sent me, this is fake. It's not from the real Publishers Clearing House,” confirmed Chris Irving, vice-president of consumer and legal affairs for Publishers Clearing House.
Irving said scammers use their name to try and establish legitimacy. And there are clear signs the letter Johnson received is a phony. The first giveaway is how PCH notifies winners for prizes of $10,000 or more.
“We don't call ahead, we don't tell people ahead of time, we don't send a letter ahead of time, we show up with our big check with champagne with our flowers to surprise our winners,” said Irving.
And he said it's also a telltale if they ask you for money.
“There are taxes involved, but they're not going to be paying them to PCH, right?” Mallory Sofastaii asked Irving.
“We are not asking for taxes that's between you and Uncle Sam, if you're a winner. You will file an IRS report on your taxes, but we don't ask for taxes and any legitimate sweepstakes would not ask you to pay taxes up front. That's between you and the IRS,” Irving explained.
Johnson put it all together and didn't send any money, but he knows others may put aside their suspicions because they want to believe it's real.
“Although it looked very legitimate, it was suspect at the same time and the amount was ridiculous, but I could see someone who was in dire straits thinking they won and call,” said Johnson.
There's been some enforcement actions against sweepstakes scammers. In October, a Jamaican national was arrested for allegedly posing as Publishers Clearing House to defraud elderly victims of millions of dollars. And last month, three New York residents were convicted for operating a Jamaican lottery scam between 2017 and 2020 where they defrauded elderly victims by posing as Publishers Clearing House.
Another sign it's a scam is if you don't remember ever entering the lottery to begin with. If you receive one of these letters, phone calls, or emails, don't respond, don't send money, and don't give out personal information.
Irving said PCH provides comprehensive anti-scam education on their website, on their toll-free customer service line, in their mail and in regular outreach to consumer gatherings. Click here for more detailed information on their scam education and protection tips.