Phony Letter from Publishers Clearing House Lands in Mailboxes Across the Country, Warns Better Business Bureau

Better Business Bureau is warning the public to beware of letters supposedly from Publishers Clearing House which claim that they have won a grand prize drawing of $1 million. Despite how official the letters might look, the recipient is the target of a widespread mailing that is seeing a sudden resurgence across the country.

“Perhaps, not surprisingly, the increased prevalence of this comes on the heels of the actual Publishers Clearing House awarding a New Jersey woman $5,000 a week for the rest of her life,” said John Riggins, CEO BBB at Fort Worth. “Less reputable people often steal their ideas from the headlines and operate in the wake of newsworthy events, such as Publishers Clearing House giving out a prize, because they know it’ll be on top of people’s minds.”

Victims receive a letter supposedly from Publishers Clearing House claiming that they have won $1 million as the second place winner of a drawing sponsored by Reader’s Digest Magazine. The letter is accompanied by a check for as much as $5,900 with instructions to call the Publishers Clearing House representative listed in the letter. Over the phone, the victims are told that, in order to receive their prize, they must cash the check and then wire approximately $4,000 to Publishers Clearing House and then the rest of the winnings will be sent to them. The check, however, is false and any money wired cannot be recovered.

Since early March, reports of the Publishers Clearing House have come in from 19 states including Texas.  Not only are letters popping up in mailboxes, but some people report receiving phone calls from those who are posing as Publishers Clearing House as well.

While this predominantly takes advantage of individuals, business owners also need to be aware that their company’s name could potentially be used. The checks sent to the supposed prize winners with the letter are copies of checks from legitimate businesses, whose check information was reproduced for these mailers and even included an account number. Arlington based Av-Tech Industries has discovered they have fallen prey to this scheme. “We recently received a call from a consumer,” said Brenda Avery, Vice President Av-Tech Industries. “We are disturbed that someone is tarnishing our reputation in this way.”