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Domain Due Diligence

Report for Pch.com

Report Date
October 2, 2025
Recommendation
Caution
Overall Summary
Suspicious
  Why we think so? 

pch.com is the high-traffic website for Publishers Clearing House (PCH). The domain is long‑standing (registered in 1994) and hosts legitimate sweepstakes and games with ~24 million monthly visits and a U.S.-heavy audience. At the same time, regulators and tens of thousands of consumers have complained about misleading marketing and hidden charges; the FTC extracted an ~$18.5M refund settlement and the company later filed for bankruptcy-related restructuring. In short: this is a real, established brand with documented consumer‑harm issues — treat offers and purchase prompts with caution. 🛡️

Confidence Score
55%

Risk Insights

⚠️

Real brand, real problems

  • pch.com is a legitimate, long‑running site with heavy traffic and registered trademarks.
  • At the same time, regulators found deceptive practices that led to a major consumer refund program.
  • That mix makes the site trustworthy as an organization, but risky for consumers responding to purchase prompts.

Contradictory Signals

The site is clearly a real, professionally hosted service, yet its marketing practices have harmed consumers; high legitimacy doesn’t eliminate consumer‑facing risks.

Signal A: High technical and traffic signals (Akamai, AWS, DigiCert, ~24M monthly visits)

Signal B: Regulatory enforcement and large refund settlement for deceptive marketing

Category Scores

Red Flags & Warnings

  • FTC found deceptive marketing practices and obtained ~$18.5M for harmed consumers.
  • Multiple consumer reports and investigations show users losing money via confusing purchase prompts and hidden fees.
  • Bankruptcy/financial restructuring noted in news sources, which may affect prize obligations and refunds.
  • High prevalence of third‑party impersonation scams using the PCH brand (fake calls, checks, sites) increases user risk.
  • Aggressive marketing and numerous ad/monetization technologies suggest the site cross‑sells products that have generated complaints.

🔎 Detailed Checks & Analysis

Identity – domain & ownership

Score: 90/100
Passed

"pch.com is an established domain with registration records dating to 1994 and clear registrar entries; ownership aligns with Publishers Clearing House corporate addresses."

Reason: Long-registered domain (since 1994) with corporate WHOIS records and U.S. registrant addresses.

Reputation – complaints & enforcement

Score: 25/100
Failed

"The FTC obtained a large refund settlement (~$18.5M) after finding misleading emails and hidden charges; thousands of consumer complaints and press coverage document harm."

Reason: Regulatory enforcement and many consumer complaints alleging deceptive marketing and billing.

Technical – hosting, TLS, DNS, SPF

Score: 92/100
Passed

"The site uses Akamai CDN and AWS hosting, has a valid DigiCert certificate and explicit SPF/MX records, which reduce risk that the primary host is a phishing page."

Reason: Professional infrastructure (Akamai, AWS), valid DigiCert TLS, and comprehensive DNS/SPF records.

Content – site experience & monetization

Score: 68/100
Failed

"Site content matches the game's/sweepstakes business, but many ad/marketing technologies are present and have been tied to consumer confusion about purchases and entries."

Reason: High-traffic sweepstakes and games content but heavy ad/monetization integrations and reports of confusing purchase flows.

Legal – trademark & compliance risk

Score: 30/100
Failed

"PCH holds multiple live USPTO trademarks, confirming brand legitimacy, but regulatory actions and settlements indicate legal/compliance risk for consumers."

Reason: Strong trademark ownership but recent FTC findings and settlement show compliance failures.

Business validity – operational & financial status

Score: 40/100
Failed

"Traffic and activity remain high, yet reported financial distress and restructuring reduce confidence in long‑term promises such as lifetime payouts."

Reason: Site remains operational with large traffic, but news of bankruptcy/restructuring introduces uncertainty about payouts and business continuity.

Your Next Steps

  • 1

    If you were asked to pay fees to claim a PCH prize, stop and verify: contact PCH via addresses listed on info.pch.com and do not send money.

  • 2

    If you purchased from PCH and believe marketing was deceptive, check eligibility for the FTC $18.5M refund and follow FTC guidance (link in citations).

  • 3

    Treat unsolicited calls, emails, or social messages claiming you’ve won as likely scams; confirm prize notifications using official site contact pages before sharing personal data.

  • 4

    For high‑value promises or lifetime payouts, seek written contract terms and legal advice — recent bankruptcy/settlement activity can affect payouts.

  • 5

    Report impersonation scams to the FTC and your local law enforcement, and forward suspicious PCH‑branded messages to PCH’s fraud reporting page.

Evidence & Citations

🕵🏻 Keep investigating

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