Shane Missler
Shane Missler, 20, was the sole winner of the $450 Mega Millions jackpot that was drawn on January 5. When he revealed himself this week to the public, it became known he opted for a lump-sum payment of $281.9 million ($211.4 million after taxes) instead of annual payments. A 20-year-old man from Florida's Gulf Coast is officially the luckiest man in the world after winning a $451m Mega Millions lottery jackpot on Friday. Shane Missler, of Port Richey, purchased his. For a lucky 20-year-old named Shane Missler from Florida's Gulf Coast, the dream of winning the lottery became reality. So what happens when a millennial kid wins a huge jackpot? Coffee Date With Dad IMAGE BY: Shane Missler / Facebook. Shortly after news broke that 20-year-old Floridian Shane Missler had won the $451 million Mega Millions jackpot in January 2018, someone using a fake Twitter account to pose as Missler tweeted.
The 20-year-old became one of the biggest winners in Mega Millions history on Friday 5th January, and came forward a few days ago to tell his story. Along with his plans to ‘have some fun’, Missler spoke about how fortunate he felt and how he intended to use the money to help out others, and it is those generous words which have been seized upon by scammers.
A fake account quickly appeared which was offering $5,000 to the first 50,000 followers to like or retweet one of its posts. Twitter users were asked to share their Venmo and PayPal account emails as a response to another post, while others asking for money were asked to send private messages. The account, which attracted more than 50,000 likes and retweets, has since been deleted, but many others are still present and Missler has told people not to fall into the trap.
“Unfortunately many fake accounts have already circulated. My only active and real accounts are Instagram and Twitter both @TheShaneMissler,' wrote Missler, who admits he has had a ‘crash course’ in financial management since finding out about his win.
How To Avoid Lottery Scams
One of the most common types of lottery scam is for fraudsters to impersonate big winners such as Missler and pretend they want to donate some of their money, perhaps by saying they have set up some sort of trust. While some winners are very charitable, they do not contact strangers to give their cash away. The aim of these scams is to extract financial or personal information so they can eventually steal your money.
In most cases, scams are easy to spot. The fake Missler account offering $5,000 to 50,000 followers, for example, claimed that it was ready to give away a total of $250 million. In reality, Missler opted for a one-off cash payment of $282 million and will only receive around $211.4 million after federal income taxes.
Shane Missler Lottery Winner
Shane Missler Charity
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember, you can not win a lottery prize for a game that you have not entered, and would never be asked to make a payment by a legitimate lottery in order to receive a prize.