What does pch search and win mean

Many scammers misuse the PCH name — and some of those scams are sophisticated enough to make it difficult to tell if you've really won or not. So how can you tell when you really win Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes and when you're being scammed? Scammers are adept at making people believe that they are affiliated with Publishers Clearing House when they're not.

PCH is a popular target of scams because people are familiar with the company and want to believe they have really won a prize. But a legitimate-looking win notification should not be enough to make you believe you are a big winner. Logos can be copied, names of legitimate PCH employees can be found on Google, signatures can be forged.

You need to be familiar with how PCH really notifies its big winners. Here are six tips to help you spot PCH scams:. If you receive an email, a telephone call, or a bulk mail letter saying that you've won a big prize from PCH, it's a scam. According to the PCH website :. So if you receive a prize notification by any method other than certified mail or an in-person award, you know you're being scammed.

Scammers extort money from you in exchange for a promise of a prize that never materializes. The truth is you never, ever have to pay to receive a sweepstakes prize from Publishers Clearing House or any other company. If your prize notification asks for money to pay for taxes, to release the prize, to pay for customs, or for any other reason, it's a scam. You don't have to give Publishers Clearing House your address, bank account number, driver license number, or any other confidential information when you enter.

You may have to fill out an affidavit to verify eligibility if you win, but not when you enter. If the entry form is asking for this kind of personal information, it's a sign you are on a spoofed website. A spoofed website tries to appear like the official PCH entry form. If you use it, however, you transmit your information directly to scammers instead. Here are some tips on how to identify fake websites. A popular sweepstakes scam makes it appear that you're not really paying for your prize by handing over a check and asking you to send back some of the money.

After all, they're providing the funds, right? Those checks aren't legitimate, and you'll be left holding the bill. Read about check scams for more information. Before you respond to any win notice, take some steps to verify your prize wins. For example, use Google to search for similar win notifications that victims reported to consumer organizations.

Check that the person sending the notice really works for PCH. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance.

Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Sandra Grauschopf. Sandra Grauschopf has been working in the contests industry since She is a passionate sweeper, with tens of thousands of dollars worth of prize wins to her name, and she has been sharing advice about how to be a winner for over a decade. Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Updated February 12, Featured Video. Feeling Like You Never Win? Your Privacy Rights. Just sign up for a free account, then all you need to do is to make sure you're logged in before you enter your internet search terms.

It doesn't matter what you search for, any topic counts. You can search for new sweepstakes to enter, delicious new recipes to make, funny cat videos, or whatever else catches your interest. Furthermore, if you don't like the results, you're under no obligation to visit the websites. Whether you click on the results of the search or not will in no way affect your chances of winning.

However, you'll want to be sure that you are performing legitimate searches, not simply entering gobblygook for a chance to win. You can find more Do's and Don'ts on the Search and Win website. Although you can perform as many searches as you like, only the first 25 searches each day are eligible to win prizes.

Typical prizes include Amazon gift certificates, music downloads, cash in various denominations, and even larger prizes. If you win an instant prize, a congratulations screen will pop up and let you know how to claim your prize. PCH will contact you with information about claiming more valuable prizes. In fact, million-dollar winner Natalie Bostelman won her prize with a simple search. You will also receive tokens with your first search each day, as well as for your membership anniversary and birthday.

These prizes include gift cards, cash, and much more. They have a variety of giveaways running at any given time. As with many instant sweepstakes, a winning time will be randomly drawn for each prize to be given away. The first eligible person to perform a qualifying search after each predetermined time will be a potential winner.

For some tips on how to tweak your entries to increase your odds of winning, see how sweepstakes drawings work.