# @wmar2news on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C0cGGONLBAB
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/10212397-wmar2news-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/84c8f643ca.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-12-04T17:12:31.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** WMAR-2 News (@WMAR2News) — https://gondola.cc/WMAR2News

## Caption

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… a fake sweepstakes letter! 😱

mallorybrookes annual countdown of the 12 Scams of Christmas begins with fake sweepstakes letters and how real prize winners are notified. 

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Anyone would welcome an influx of cash, especially during the holidays, but don’t get too excited if you’re mailed a winning letter for a lottery or sweepstakes.

Thomas Johnson recently received one.

“I looked at it and was like, wow, I’m a winner,” said Johnson.
The letter stated he’d won $450,000 in a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes and provided details on how he could claim his prize.

“And it was very interesting because it had a health care address on it, or it was coming from a health care organization, and who’s not trying to save on health care? So, I pretty much opened it and then I saw a check. And I saw it was Publishers Clearing House,” Johnson recalled.

Johnson thought it was peculiar the envelope didn’t say Publishers Clearing House, then he figured it was by design.

“We want to keep it a secret because you’re a big winner. And you don’t want, you know, family members saying, hey, remember me?” Johnson said.

The letter also told him to keep his prize a secret, to text a number to begin the verification process, and to be aware that by law he’ll need to pay taxes and processing fees before his winnings are mailed.

“This letter that you sent me, this is fake. It’s not from the real Publishers Clearing House,” confirmed Chris Irving, vice-president of consumer and legal affairs for Publishers Clearing House.

Irving said scammers use their name to try and establish legitimacy. And there are clear signs the letter Johnson received is a phony. The first giveaway is how PCH notifies winners for prizes of $10,000 or more.

“We don’t call ahead, we don’t tell people ahead of time, we don’t send a letter ahead of time, we show up with our big check with champagne with our flowers to surprise our winners,” said Irving.

#scam #scammer #news #headline #scamalert

## Stats

- **Views:** 64
- **Likes:** 1
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## Tags

scamalert, scammer, news, headline, scam

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