Scam Detective
Scam verdict · Educational pattern check
Scam Detective research desk · Updated October 2026
Real company — fake call

Did You Really Win Publishers Clearing House? If They Called, You Didn't

PCH is a real company running real sweepstakes — with a real FTC record: an $18.5 million 2023 settlement after the FTC said its marketing deceived consumers into believing they had to buy to enter or that buying improved their odds. But the call, text, or letter saying you won is always the scam: real prizes are free, and any fee to collect — “taxes,” “shipping,” “processing” — means a scammer. Verify through contact information you look up yourself, never the caller's.

Educational verdict from documented scam patterns — not a live report. For a 0–100 risk score on the exact link in your hand, run the checker.

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The record · Quoted verbatim

Straight from the source

The verdict stands on the public record — the line below is quoted verbatim from the source named under it.

“Real prizes are free. If there's a charge, it's a scam. Anyone who tells you to pay to get your prize — whether it's for ‘taxes,’ ‘shipping and handling charges,’ or ‘processing fees’ — is a scammer.”

— FTC, “Hang up on PCH impersonators.”

The durable question

Why this question never goes away

Two things are true at once, and the FTC has documented both. First: Publishers Clearing House is a real company — and in June 2023 the FTC said PCH itself deceived consumers, using language and designs on its website and in email marketing that tricked people, including many older adults, into believing they had to buy something to enter, or that buying improved their odds. (Both are illegal.) The settlement: $18.5 million for refunds, plus a finding that PCH hid shipping and handling fees averaging 40% of the order. Second: the phone call saying you won is never PCH. The FTC's December 2023 alert describes the script: a call claims you won millions through a “multi-state lottery,” tells you to call a number and press 1, invents winnings “held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,” and ends with a fee to release the money. Every version is a scam. The rule that dissolves all of it: real prizes are free. Any charge — taxes, shipping, processing — means hang up.

The checklist

Five red flags — any one is enough

A call, text, or letter announcing a PCH win you never entered — especially “call this number and press 1.”
Any fee to collect — taxes, shipping and handling, processing, insurance. Real prizes are free.
Winnings described as “held” at a bank or agency — the Federal Reserve Bank of New York story is documented fiction.
Urgency and secrecy — “act now,” “tell no one.” Real prizes don't expire in an hour.
A check arriving first with instructions to send part of it back — the check is fake; the “win” and the check collapse together.
What to do now

Your next three moves

1
Verify through a channel you open yourself — look up Publishers Clearing House's real contact information yourself and ask directly; never verify through the number, link, or “agent” named in the call, letter, or text. Names that look like the real thing are part of the script.
2
Refuse the ask: no fee to collect — no “taxes,” “shipping and handling,” “processing,” or “insurance.” Real prizes are free; any charge to release a prize means a scammer, whoever they claim to be.
3
Report the contact to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov — and paste any link or sender from the message into the $2 instant check for a 0–100 scam risk score.
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Follow-up questions

People also ask

Is Publishers Clearing House itself a legitimate company?

Yes — a real company running real sweepstakes. But it has a real FTC record: in June 2023 the FTC said PCH deceived consumers with language and designs that tricked people, including many older adults, into believing they had to buy to enter or that buying improved their odds — both illegal. The settlement: $18.5 million for refunds.

Did I really win if PCH called or left a voicemail?

No — if they called, you didn't. The documented script claims millions won through a “multi-state lottery,” tells you to call a number and press 1, invents winnings “held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,” and ends with a fee to release the money. Every version is a scam.

Do I ever have to pay taxes or fees to collect a real prize?

Never — real prizes are free. Anyone who tells you to pay to get your prize — whether it's for “taxes,” “shipping and handling charges,” or “processing fees” — is a scammer, per the FTC.

They sent a check for part of the winnings and told me to send some back — is that real?

No — the check is fake; the “win” and the check collapse together. Deposit it, forward the “fees,” and when the check bounces you owe the bank back everything you sent.

Related verdicts

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