Sweepstakes Scams Ask Consumers To Pay Fees To Collect Prizes

A woman said on Friday that she narrowly missed falling for a costly scam.

Alice Carver said that she has spent a lot of money on sweepstakes, Consumer 10’s Kurt Ludlow reported.

Carver said that the entries had piled up at her home.

“Enclose a small fee of $13 for the guaranteed delivery of your 100 percent entitlement entry document,” Carver said one of the scams read. “I have done it a few times, where it said $10 or $9 or $20, and I never heard anything more.

Carver said that her phone rang one day and someone said that they were from the Publishers Clearing House.

“They asked me had I been, ever joined a contest with them and I said, ‘Yes, several times all down the years,’ and they said, ‘You’ve just won $1.5 million,’” Carver said.

The catch was that she would have to pay the taxes first and then they would take her to the bank to collect her prize, Ludlow reported.

“I was waiting for the truck to pull up outside and say with that big check saying that I won it,” Carver said.

Publishers Clearing House officials said that scammers often try to use their reputable name.

According to the organization, contest winners are never notified by home.

Carver said that a gut instinct led her to hang up on the caller.

“I was hoping it was real, but I guess anything is too good to be true,” Carver said.

Experts said that when it comes to sweepstakes, consumers should never have to pay a fee to claim a prize, Ludlow reported.

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