Police Warn of Scammers Pretending to be Lottery Winner
Police in Massachusetts have issued warnings to social media users after numerous scammers started posing as the recent Powerball Lottery winner. Just last week, Mavis Wanczyk won $758 million in the Powerball Lottery, making her the biggest single jackpot winner in history. She lives in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and it didn’t take long for scammers to try and use her success for their own gains.
Scammers Pretend to be Lottery Winner
Naturally, with such a massive jackpot win, there was a huge amount of media attention around her win. Soon after the story broke, countless fake Twitter and Facebook accounts began to emerge using variations of Wanczyk’s name. This is according to the public information officer for the Chicopee Police department, Michael Wilk.
The scam accounts seem to be attempting to access personal information, promising them money. The scammers pretend to be Mavis and send out private messages to people, promising to give them some of her lottery money when they answer.
Some of the scams even seem plausible, with the police reporting that college students have been targeted. The scammers have promised to help pay off their tuition fees and books.
Security Increased for Lottery Winner
The police in Chicopee have also had to increase security for Wanczyk at her home. This came after numerous reports of strangers wandering around her neighbourhood. Several of these strangers were also apparently knocking on random people’s doors and asking where she lived.
In some happier news, there has been another lottery jackpot winner, but this win is a bit less impressive. The winner is former Barcelona soccer player, Xavi. The soccer player reportedly won the annual Qatari Lottery, worth around $260 000. Xavi is currently playing for Al-Saad SC and earns an estimated $12 million a year, so this lottery win is unlikely to change his life.
Just be careful of him reaching out to you on social media offering money, it’s probably not really him.