How and why the scam works
Publishers Clearing House is a household name: The sweepstakes company, based in Jericho, New York, was founded in 1953 and became famous through the years, surprising thrilled winners with life-changing cash payouts. It’s now under new ownership after filing for bankruptcy last year (causing complications for previous winners who signed up for lifetime payouts), but scams using PCH’s name have continued unabated. (The company didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment, but has information about fraud on its website.)
Criminals reach out by phone calls, emails, text messages, social media or even official-looking letters to claim you’re a guaranteed winner but need to pay a little something before getting your prize.
Amy Nofziger, senior director of AARP’s Fraud Watch Network Helpline, points out that that’s not how the contest works: “Publishers Clearing House is not going to say, ‘Hey, Amy, you owe $250 to pick up that prize. You have to pay your shipping and handling.’ ”
But sometimes the criminals steal far more than a few hundred dollars. A recent episode of AARP’s The Perfect Scam podcast tells a devastating story about Manny Guerrero, an Air Force veteran living in Las Vegas who began entering sweepstakes and playing online games during a lonely period after he’d lost his wife of 62 years.
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That’s why he wasn’t as suspicious as he might have been when he received a call from someone claiming to be with PCH (one of the contests he’d entered). The caller told him he’d won $7.5 million and could receive the money once he paid some fees and taxes. Excited to surprise his family with the winnings, Guerrero wrote out a check for $26,000.
The criminals didn’t stop there, though. Over the course of six months, as they continued to request further payments, the Vietnam veteran sent them, in total, about $180,000 — until FBI detectives discovered the scheme and intervened. “It was my life savings,” he told podcast host Bob Sullivan.
Millions lost to prize, sweepstakes and lottery scams
These scams are disturbingly common. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers reported losing $145 million to prize, sweepstakes and lottery scams in 2024, up more than $18 million from the year before. The actual losses are likely much higher, as fraud is notoriously underreported.
It’s the fourth-most-common kind of scam that AARP’s Fraud Watch Network Helpline has received in recent months.
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