W.Va. residents still falling for Publishers Clearing House scam

Aug. 19—CHARLESTON — Residents of West Virginia are still falling for a scam letter that alleges state officials are involved in the award of sweepstakes prizes.

According to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, additional cases of the so-called Publishers Clearing House scam has been reported across the state, and residents need to be on the lookout for it.

Several people have fallen for the scam since the first alert was issued by Morrisey's office in June.

At that time, a fake letter with the state seal of West Virginia, supposedly signed by Gov. Jim Justice and bearing the attorney general's name, surfaced. It claimed that Morrisey flew to New York to meet with the Board of Directors of Publishers Clearing House to negotiate the prize for the recipient of the letter.

There was no such meeting. Morrisey and Justice are not involved in the award of prizes through Publishers Clearing House.

Morrisey said scammers have been known to use familiar names to lure consumers into a false sense of trust and acceptance which leads them to give the scammers money to claim a supposed prize.

"I want to reiterate the importance of looking for warning signs such as unusual word choices in the letter or improper grammar," Morrisey said. "Most importantly, never give money to a scammer or allow them to access your credit card or computer."

Although Publishers Clearing House does award prizes, Morrisey said there are some things to look for to verify the legitimacy of any win:

—Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes are free to enter and winners never pay to receive their prize.{div}—Consumers should never agree to send cash, wire money, buy gift cards or provide account numbers associated with a credit/debit card or bank in order to claim a prize.{/div}—Publishers Clearing House representatives also will never call winners or ask for personal information. They instead notify winners in-person or via certified mail.

Anyone who believes they have been the victim of a scam should contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at 800-368-8808 or visit the office online at www.wvago.gov.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is warning consumers to be on the lookout for a Publishers Clearing House scam that continues to be reported around the state.

A few have fallen victim since after the Attorney General sent out an alert in June when a fake letter with the state seal of West Virginia, supposedly signed by the governor and bearing the Attorney General's name, surfaced. It claimed that Attorney General Morrisey flew to New York to meet with the Board of Directors of Publishers Clearing House to negotiate the prize for the recipient of the letter.

Scammers have been known to use familiar names to lure consumers into a false sense of trust and unquestioned acceptance which leads them to give the scammers money to claim the supposed prize.

"I want to reiterate the importance of looking for warning signs such as unusual word choices in the letter or improper grammar," Attorney General Morrisey said. "Most importantly, never give money to a scammer or allow them to access your credit card or computer."

Although Publishers Clearing House does award prizes, there are some things to look for to verify the legitimacy of any win:

Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes are free to enter and winners never pay to receive their prize.

Consumers should never agree to send cash, wire money, buy gift cards or provide account numbers associated with a credit/debit card or bank in order to claim a prize.

Publishers Clearing House representatives also will never call winners or ask for personal information. They instead notify winners in-person or via certified mail.

Anyone who believes they have been the victim of a scam should contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at 800-368-8808, the Eastern Panhandle Consumer Protection Office in Martinsburg at 304-267-0239 or visit the office online at www.wvago.gov.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens