PCH Warns Consumers of Bogus ‘Oprah’ Mailings
Publishers Clearing House alerted consumers last week about fraudulent sweepstakes mailings that claim to be from PCH, Oprah Winfrey and O Magazine.
The mailings include what appears to be a real check, but the check is bogus and consumers are asked to wire money back to a false address.
Some consumers have been told that the check is an advance on a sweepstakes they have won and that once they wire some money and cash the check they can expect their millions to arrive in the mail.
Suspicious of the mailing, the daughter of one woman who received the mailing set up a separate checking account and deposited the check to see if it was in fact legitimate. It was not, she said.
“We are angry about the reports of scam artists using our good name and reputation along with that of O Magazine and Oprah Winfrey in an attempt to deceive consumers” Chris Irving, the assistant vice president for legal and consumer affairs at Publishers Clearing House, said in a statement.
Consumers who received the mailings were encouraged to contact law enforcement or consumer protection offices.
