Hoax warning: Viral tweet promising $5,000 from lottery winner a fake

A new tweet making the rounds promises readers $5,000 from a recent Mega Millions jackpot winner if they “retweet and like the post.”

So far, 76,000 people have retweeted the post and it has also received 69,000 likes.

If it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is.

READ MORE: Single winning ticket for $450 million Mega Millions draw was sold in Florida

While 20-year-old Shane Missler did indeed win the “Mega Ball” jackpot on Jan. 5, the Twitter account is a fraud.

The photo the fraudster used was taken from Missler’s Facebook page.

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Missler has pinned a tweet to the top of his account which notes: “Unfortunately many fake accounts have already circulated. My only active and real accounts are Instagram and Twitter both @theshanemissler.

Missler claimed his prize on Jan. 12, and chose to take a one-time payment of $282 million rather than the full jackpot which would have been spread out over a number of years. Twenty-five per cent of his take was also claimed by the taxman,

“I’m only 20, but I hope to use it to pursue a variety of passions, help my family and do some good for humanity,” said Missler, according to a statement.

The statement from the lottery also said Missler “wasn’t really surprised that he had won” because he had “a feeling” that he might, the Tampa Bay Times reports.