Too good to be true

Sometimes it is worth looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Publishers Clearing House can only be described as a cultural phenomenon. For decades, commercials have aired showing real people being presented checks by the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol. What may seem like a one-in-a-million chance of winning is, actually, a one in 6.2 billion chance of winning the company's "$5,000 A Week for Life" sweepstakes according to the Publishers Clearing House website.

On December 18, Encampment resident Vicki Loftice received a letter in the mail informing her she had won money from Publishers Clearing House. The letter, which looked official enough, came in an envelope with no return address. According to the letter, Loftice had won a total of $750,000. Included with the letter was a check for $8,359.43. All she needed to do was contact the claims agent, Stone Benson.

Loftice allowed the Saratoga Sun to make a copy of both the letter and the check.

"Your payment will be processed and must leave our office within three business days," read the letter. "Contact our branch office immediately ... and speak to your claims agent Stone Benson for method of payment. Please discuss and advise your agent the most convenient payment arrangement."

When Loftice called the number in the letter, she received her second red flag of the day-the first being the envelope both the letter and check came in did not have a return address. According to Loftice, when she called the number the person-who later identified himself as Stone Benson-answered with a simple "Hello". When asked, the person on the other end of the line identified themselves as Stone Benson and said Loftice had called Publishers Clearing House.

"He said give me your claim number. So I read him off the claim number and he came back on and he said 'Yes, that is correct. You've won $750,000'," said Loftice. "He said 'You need to deposit that check in the bank today and then call us back after you've deposited it'. I said 'Well, my bank's closed today' because the letter said you have three to five days to do this."

According to the letter, there was "only a week (3-5 days) hold on your winnings". 

When asked about the check, the person calling themselves Stone Benson said the amount was to help pay the customs and taxes for Canada as it was a North American Sweepstakes program. She was told the additional taxes would be taken out of her winnings when they were delivered to her. When Loftice said she couldn't deposit the check that day, as it was Saturday and her bank was closed, she was told a hold would be placed on it until Monday. She was further advised to deposit the check Monday and then call the number in the letter afterwards.

"I hung up and I went on the internet and I researched Publishers Clearing House," Loftice said. "It took me a couple hours, but I did get a phone number to call. I called them, they answered the phone Publisher's Clearinghouse. All he asked me was my name and my zip code. I gave that to him and he said 'No, you're not a winner. It's a scam'."

The letter Loftice received also advised against scams.

"Please keep this award letter strictly confidential until your cash prize winnings has been processed and remitted to your designated account," the letter read. "It is our company policy to keep this letter and your cash prize winnings confidential to avoid double or false claims, identity theft and impersonation."

When Loftice came into the Sun office on Monday and provided the letter and check, both appeared official looking. It was only when looking at the incorrect tense of the letter and upon scanning the check that elements of the scam were discovered. The check, for example, neither had a watermark or an official seal on it. Further, when scanned and adjusted, void marks were visible which could not be seen when put up against the light.

After calling the official Publishers Clearing House number, Loftice also spoke with the Saratoga Police Department who provided her with the number to the Wyoming Attorney General's Office. Loftice also spoke with a pastor in Encampment and Encampment Town Clerk Doreen Harvey. Additionally, she informed her daughter, Kim Loftice, who is the director of the Sagebrush Senior Center in Encampment.

Due to Vicki Loftice's suspicions, she was able to keep from being another victim of a scam. Her advice to anyone of any age is if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If it is claiming to be from a known company, such as Publishers Clearing House, call the actual company and ask for yourself.