Some variations of the scam involve receiving a check for a few thousand dollars in the mail to deposit and then being asked to overnight some cash. The scammers can even be bold enough to claim that they're a BBB-accredited business. The losses could be higher because many victims do not report their losses out of fear that family members and friends will find out and be upset with them. But the BBB reported that locally consumers lost about $1,500 in the past three months. Many people, fortunately, aren't sending cash. The Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula warns consumers that it has seen an uptick of complaints about imposters claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House and other groups offering prizes. Publishers Clearing House notes that scammers might request money via Western Union, MoneyGram, Green Dot Cards, assorted gift cards and even sometimes tell you to send cash through the mail.Ĭonsumers can report a scam online at /app/report_scam or call the customer service team at 80 and say "Report a Scam" from the main menu. The scammers who promise big winnings often try to steal money by claiming that consumers need to cover the “prepayment of taxes” or "Homeland Security fees." Or they might even say you need to send money to cover a refundable deposit or some sort of transfer fee to collect that prize. "If someone tells you that you have won a prize but that you have to send money for any reason, hang up the phone, rip up the letter or delete the email or social media post," said Chris Irving, vice president of consumer and legal affairs for Publishers Clearing House in Jericho, New York. Publishers Clearing House and other legitimate sweepstakes do not require you to buy anything, place an order for something or hand over money to cover a tax or fee of any kind to collect a real prize.
Typically, they're going to ask you to put cash on gift cards or send money via a wire transfer. Winners don't hand over moneyĮveryone, of course, would love to feel like a winner - and the scammers are betting that they can grab some quick cash off those big dreams.īut the best way to protect your money is to watch out for those red flags of a scam and stop before sending any money or handing over any personal information.Īs part of a sweepstakes scam, the crooks often try to convince you that you'll be sent a huge check for your prize after you pay some sort of processing fee and taxes up front. "If I could prevent that in any way, shape, or form, I'm all in," Levise said.
She called the Better Business Bureau instead to check out if this really was a scam, just in case, and possibly shine a light on what she thought could spell financial trouble for some other retirees and seniors. She now enjoys freelance photography, especially taking photos at the waterfront at twilight at the "moment when the light meets the dark." "Actually I thought he had been drinking," said Levise, 72, who is retired after jobs in the supermarket industry and as a personal assistant for a broker in real estate. Golden Harvest is not a real giveaway or terminology that Publishers Clearing House has ever used in its promotions.Īnd the young man on the phone spoke incredibly slowly and could not seem to pronounce his words clearly. But she was suspicious because she never heard of anything called a Golden Harvest prize from Publishers Clearing House, which she does enter sometimes. The prize was supposedly a "Golden Harvest" sweepstakes that would pay her over her lifetime. Why would they be waiting in Richmond?Īnd the phone number on her caller ID was different from the phone number she was supposed to call once she got that cashier's check in hand. The sooner she could send that check, she was told, the sooner that they could release that check out of Richmond, Michigan, which is about a 10-minute drive away. She had never heard of having to send someone thousands of dollars to claim a prize.Īnd there were other red flags, nearly as big as that American flag flying in New Baltimore at the foot of Lake St. She does recall that all she had to do was send them a cashier's check for $4,800 and they would come to her home and bring her winnings. She doesn't recall exactly how much he claimed she won - noting that she doesn't like to clutter her head with pointless information. "He wanted to know what I was going to do with all that money," said Levise, who lives in New Baltimore, which holds bragging rights for Michigan's tallest flagpole. Michelle Levise laughs a bit now when she remembers the young man who called her home and told her she was a mega winner for the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes.
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