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

The offending tweet makes a seductive promise.

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

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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.

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,

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“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.

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