Unless they show up on my doorstep with an oversized check (a whole new slew of potential scams there), I'm not cashing anything.

Wow, only one or two minor grammatical mistakes. These guys are really improving their game.

Heh, a shady company gets it's named used by scammers, who would have thunk it?

I love the real PCH website:

[gallery.famille.org]

Note the size and placement of the link on their webpage that takes you to buying actual merchandise.

Did the poor grandmother notice that the "prize check" was from an auto parts store, as noted in large print on the check, not Publisher's Clearing House?

I tried calling, but Sharon Mills is not available. She must be out spending that old lady's money.

I think the article should make it more clear that Publisher's Clearing House is *not* a scam organization - I had to read the article a couple times to confirm that.

@Julia789: Oh wait, did they tell her that check had a false company name on it to "protect her privacy" or "for her own protection?" The article mentioned they told her to keep the prize hush-hush "for her own safety" because it was a lot of money and people would want it. I wonder if that is how they convinced her the auto parts store check was legit?

@GuJiaXian: They usually do show up with a big cardboard check and balloons and cameras. But in this case, they tell the victim in the letter that "U.S. Federal Law" requires her to keep her prize confidential and not tell anyone!

Funny, that would mean all those previous winners with big checks, cameras, and balloons were BREAKING FEDERAL LAW! That ought to set off an alarm with the victim?

But the poor little old lady. She thought it was a dream come true.

For a toll-free number, doesn't the recipient have to pay for the call?

Hmmmm...

@GuJiaXian: I usually like to use the ATM or drive-up deposit. I bet it's really a bitch stuffing those oversized cardboard checks into the tubes or the ATM.

But that won't stop me from trying!

@sowellfan: t seems that Mrs. Granny isn't the only reader who's susceptible to being easily fooled. Stay away from post boxes, okay?

@Shadowman615: LOL too funny.

My sister always wanted to have her picture taken with a big cardboard check, she thought it would be hysterical. So when her business took off and she decided to make a large donation to charity, she called a press conference and went to have a large cardboard check made. She had no idea what a pain in the ass it is to have a giant check made! She had to call a dozen printing companies to find one that would design it for her.

So although she never reached her dream of winning a huge check, she made her own money and then gave a local charity the excitement of GETTING a big check. Everyone asked her if they really cashed it, but no they write a separate regular check for the actual bank trip. Too bad, it would have been really funny watching them carry it in! ;-)

You're so right... if I received one of these things, I would be horribly disappointed by it (because for a second there...). It's too bad they tip their hat so obviously. And the whole "The Internal Revenue agent handling your file is Mr. Henry Cohen." made me laugh out loud.

Why did they not just send a letter saying "This is a scam, but please cash the check and send us some money anyway."?

By now you would think that everyone should know if you are sent a check, asked to cash it and send part of it to someone else, that it is a scam.

In what way is that check "certified"???

@T Axel Jones: Yup, time to get a job. Nothing to see here anymore.

@mmcnary: Yes, I believe they do. Please feel free to call the scammer all day long! Keep them on hold with ridiculous requests. Say you've got their letter, and are ready to pay taxes on your prize winnings. Could they just hold on for five minutes while you locate your checkbook? If everyone does this, the scammers will get quite a phone bill.

That is, unless they have some type of unlimited calling minutes or 1-800 number through a cable company plan. Our local cable company has a business plan with unlimited calls...

Regardless, it would still be fun to waste their time immensely and annoy the hell out of them with the hope of false scores on their scams.

whenever I buy from any of these type of Shysters, I get a temporary credit card from bank for use online. Such as $2 charge for 1 year of magazine, Ill order several but ask bank online fot shop safe card of about $40 with 2 month expiration except Ive used up the 40 ASAP. Let them try to charge that particular card. Publishers clearing house as well as others online will continue to rack up charges on your real card. Cant with this method.

@SalenaBabblerash: This isn't Publisher's Clearinghouse, it's some lower-level fraud operation abusing their name.

@mmcnary:

Probably not. Usually they have a flat plan that covers all calls coming in.

Personally, I have an 888 number that I've kept for years, which costs only $4 per month, and each call (I get very few per month - it's a side business) costs me 10c per minute. But for higher volume, there are flat plans.

HOWEVER... there is an exception to this.

If somneone uses a PAYPHONE to call, then the 800-number is hit with a 25 or 50 cent fee. This went into effect a while back (90's I believe) before cellphones were prevalent... Payphones would make money on all calls EXCEPT toll free calls, since the caller never had to insert money. Now, if you use a payphone to call a toll-free number, the owner of that toll-free number is charged 25-50 cents (flat) which goes to the owner of the payphone (and whatever mediums are in between, such as the telco)

So, if you want to "get them" then locate your nearest (ahem) payphone, and dial away!

@sowellfan: I think PCH is pretty scummy (scammy?) They've been investigated, fined, and sued in the past for deceptive practices. The way they operate now is within the law, but walking a very fine line of being illegal. They are predatory and aimed at the elderly. They trick them into thinking they are "this close" to winning a grand prize, and that further purchases of junky merchandise will triple their chances of winning. They string them along for years, sending them prize confirmation codes and letters stating "Hold on to this notarized prize certificate, when you win in six months you'll need it!"

Then there are two envelopes for entering the next step of the prize. One is for those who don't purchase merchandise, and it is unmarked and designed to look like it will be discared in a PO Box in a desert state somewhere. The second envelope says "Prize Processing Headquarters! Rush Delivery for Prize Processing!" It has a place to affix the gold prize seal they send you. But you can only use that "winning" envelope if you purchase crap from the catalog. Poor grandma thinks she is "this close" to winning if only she orders more garden gnomes from Fingerhut - AGAIN!

I might even be so bold as to say that PCH scams grandmothers more often than the fraudsters in this articles. They just stretch it out over a period of years using small purchases, instead of one big scam.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but that is just my view of the company.

In the article, they are wondering why wal-mart didn't alert them to the scam...

so now people need wal-mart to watch what they do?

@Julia789: From what I have read, there is no "law" which states how big a check can be. So a giant over-sized check could actually be legal, depending on the rules of the bank, as long as all the information such as account numbers, routing #'s, etc are correct. This is one of those things I'd like to try with my bank, except now they don't have to send the checks back to you, so it's not AS fun.

@humphrmi:

Wow, a company that wants you to buy merchandise. Imagine that, trying to make an actual profit by selling merchandise.

/end sarasm

I've always wondered what would happen if I took one of these scam checks deposited it into a fresh bank account with nothing else in it and wait for the check to clear.

IF it did clear I'd pull the money out in cash and close the account. I'm curious what would happen then? would the scammers attempt to come after me? Sue me and expose themselves as a fraud?

@Julia789: We used to get that "You may have already won!" crap in our mail all the time, my dad went through me one day what the deal was with them and I've stayed away ever since. I really hate the crap these people try to pull.

Generating sales through deception and intimidation is no way to run a business.

I just got one of these letters, so thanks for the alert but its obvious it was a scam since it came from PCH!

I don't know if it makes much of a difference, however there IS a Pro 1 Automotive in Charleston, WV and the contact's name is Chris Reid.

The person who "signed" the fraudulent letter goes by the name Christopher Porter. Hmmm...coincidence?

@Julia789:

They don't do that ALL the time. Most of the mailers you can just enter. Anytime I get one that's for "Orderers Only" I trash it, unless there's something I want to buy, like the neat little weather station I got with a thermometer and rain gauge. Their shipping is high, though. I only buy something if it's a magazine or I really want it and I haven't seen it anywhere else. I never save those cards or certificates either, because I probably won't win. It's fun to imagine if I did.

I know what the legitimate PCH ones look like so the check scam ones I probably won't even open.

@MormonChristmas_GitEmSteveDave: You're right, you CAN cash a giant check. It's just really inconvenient, so the use it for show mostly.

If I had a giant check, I'd like to try and cash it. It would be hysterical.

I'd ask the bank teller for a giant Sharpie marker to endorse the back in HUGE letters. Squeaking as it went.

@phate:

They might not, but the bank might.

@dragonfire81: My grandmother had mild strokes that affected her thinking. She would fall victim to PCH all the time. Had piles of junk she ordered from them in her living room. She was convinced she would win at any moment. Spent several thousand on crap she didn't need (or want) thinking it would increase her chances of winning. She would hold up the gold sealed letter and say "See, they said I'm really close!"

We had to get a live in caretaker for her, to keep an eye on her. Other grandmas are not so lucky! They use up money they need for prescriptions to buy crap from the catalog, thinking they'll win the millions and not have to worry any more.

@billlnv: Everyone HERE on Consumerist knows. I have some older friends who would totally fall for this. :( One of them I've even had arguments with about scammers. Her take is always "People wouldn't DO something like that!" *sob*.

@Youdont Knowme: Do you think someone stole their checkbook? Or just looked up a random company name and printed fake checks?

I still am not sure why someone winning a prize from PCH would cash a check from an automotive firm. Unless the scammers stated it was some secret front company and gave a weird cover story. They mentioned in the prize letter that the prize "must be kept confidential" so was the automotive check part of their scam confidential cover story?

Of course their statement that a "federal law" requires prize winners to remain silent and confidential goes against just about every prize awarding ceremony in the country. The whole purpose of prize giveaways, besides generating sales, is publicity at the giveaway!

@phate: It's a fake check. The scammers aren't really sending you some of their money. If they were, why would they only want you to send them some of it back to them? Once the bank determines that the check is fake, they go after the person who cashed it. Sometimes with the police. Don't cash a fake/scam check. Don't do it.

There's a toll-free number on the letter. Can't the phone company which handles that phone number cut off service to that number?

I also noticed that in the letter there are similar grammatical usages to the scam emails: spelling out the dollar amount in words followed by the numbers in parentheses, and the inconsistent capitalization of words in the last paragraph.

@Julia789: The check is written on Poca Valley Bank, Main Street, Walton, WV. Walton has a population of 1687 and the bank's address is actually 7033 Charleston Road.

It seems more than odd that PCH would be writing checks on an repair shop's banking account from an obscure bank in tiny town in the hills of West Virginia. Shouldn't that in itself have been a red flag?

@Dooley: I wish we still had payphones in the lobby of my building. I'd be willing to invest 1/2 hour of my lunch hour.

I hate all these stupid advance fee scams. While the main problem is gullible people, checks themselves are part of the problem as well. It is ridiculous we use stupid pieces of paper that take days or weeks to clear to transfer money, when there are so many better ways. Plus, a check is an amazing thing for an identity thief to get a hold of, it has all your info right on it. I can see the purpose for a non-cash easily transferable way to transfer money between two people without a computer present, but there are better ways to do it than checks.

@undefined: Yes, this article is horribly written and makes it appear that The PCH is behind the scam. They aren't saints to be sure but they aren't doing this either.

@Jack Doyle: HAHA! I called the number to! "Thank you for calling Publishers Clearing House, to connect to Sharon Mills press 1, or leave a message."

I left a message when Sharon didn't answer. :)

@ogremustcrush - what the f*ck are you talking about, when you say we need a "non-cash easily transferable way to transfer money between two people, without a computer present" but there are better ways to do it than checks. What exactly do you propose then, genius? Money orders? Just as transferable and loseable as cash, and even less secure than a check... No credit cards because that would require a computer. No cash because that would not be a "non-cash way." So, if you would please, enlighten me...?

No sympathy here, even for an old lady. If you don't enter a contest, how can you win? That should have been the only red flag she needed, greedy people get stupid fast.

@Oligarch_GitEmSteveDave: The sticky bit is that the bank still doesn't have to accept it just because it follows legal procedure. So you might want to have a regular-sized version in reserve just in case.

@runchadrun: I'd say not necessarily, because so many of the rebate checks, etc., are deliberately run out of obscure little banks.

But to be honest I suspect that the people getting these aren't drawing on that piece of obscure data to find them credible, so I'm not really disagreeing with you.

My aunt got taken on this one. I can't believe it, but I can at the same time. She does not have a computer, so she is unaware of the internet scams that have been going on. The check was a cashier's check that she took to the bank and cashed. She did not have funds in her account to cover the check. The bank accepted it and cashed it. She sent a portion of that money to the scammers. Now the bank wants the money back for the counterfeit check. While my aunt is not blameless, the bank should have been able to identify a counterfeit check.

A simple Google search of "Internal Revenue Henry Cohen" gave me these results.

[www.ripoffreport.com]

[www.ripoffreport.com]

Please everyone, do the research. The age old adage is still relevant in 2009. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

@Julia789: That reminds me of my brother and his girlfriend at halloween last year.

He wore a suit, got a bunch of balloons, made a microphone and a gigantic check.

His girlfriend put curlers in her hair, wore a guady night dress and house shoes.

He was delivering the prize, she was the winner. It was hilarious!

@jacknval: Clearly you're not familiar with PCH.