BEWARE: Publishers Clearing House Prize Winners Scam is Targeting Mainers

NOTE: While this was originally published in January of 2023, it is still a potentially valid scam.  Please look out for this one!

Original story follows...

It's another day and another scam here in Maine. What is it about certain people that make them want to scam the most vulnerable members of society out of their hard-earned, and often limited, money? I think it's absolutely deplorable.

Fortunately for us here in Maine, our law enforcement agencies are typically on top of these things quickly and work as fast as possible to get the word out to citizens about the crazy scams. And today we have another one that we urgently want to share with you.

Sure, we've all seen the TV commercials where the big Publishers Clearing House van pulls up in front of the suburban home and the unsuspecting home owner is presented with an oversized check for hundreds of thousands of dollars and 351 balloons. Well, that's all well and good- when it's real, that is.

According to a post from the Somerset County Sheriff's Office, at least one county resident had this particular scam happen to them. The SCSO explains that what happens is the victim will get a letter and a check from what appears to be Publishers Clearing House. The problem is, it's not really.

The letter will explain that the recipient has one a prize valued at $850,000. The enclosed check will be for a smaller amount like $7,800. The letter explains that the small check is to cover the processing expenses and taxes of the large prize. They'll ask you to send them $7,800 back to them while you wait for the (fake) check to clear. Thus, scamming the victim out of a possible $7,800.

The post from the Somerset County Sheriff's Office goes on to say in part,

If you have received a letter and check like this, before you take any action, take the check to your local bank to verify if it is real or use the publicly available ways to contact Publishers Clearing House directly to find out if you are a winner. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Lancaster