GREENSBORO, N.C. — I just got off the phone with one of your fellow viewers, and this is what she told me:
I got a call from what I thought was Publishers Clearing House. The caller told me I won the prize. For them to show up to give it to me, I had to buy $2,000 in gift cards and read off the numbers. Then, they would show up with the multi-million dollar prize.
Of course, that didn't happen. She said she was embarrassed and didn't want to tell anyone about it. I told her I wouldn't reveal her name, but telling her story is exactly how we keep the scam from happening again.
"If your viewers get an email, a call, any contact, a letter that says you've won a prize, but you have to send money, rip up the letter, hang up the phone," said Chris Irving from Publishers Clearing House in a story we did in 2021. Publishers Clearing House simply shows up. It's how they do things. You don't get a call or letter telling you that you have won.
Anytime someone says you can get a prize, grant money, or free money, someone dies and leaves you money, but you have to pay the fees or taxes first to get it, it is always a scam.
Rule # 1-- You never have to pay money to get money.
Rule #2 -- When someone asks for a gift card as payment, it's always a scam.
"Here's the number one way to protect yourself from gift card scams. Gift cards are meant to be given as gifts, period. If someone says they want to be paid by gift cards, they are a scammer, regardless of the scenario," said Lechelle Yates of the Better Business Bureau.
Even if you think all your friends and family know these scams and these rules, share it with them. The best way to stop a scam is to make everyone aware of how to spot it.