Mavis Wanczyk was the sole winner of the August 27, 2017 draw of the US Powerball. With nobody to split the prize with, the 50-something mom from Massachusetts took home a lump sum of $336,350,655 after taxes. Not long after, Mavis quit her job at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield. Source: WCVB Boston A 53-year-old Massachusetts mother of two on Thursday came forward to claim the largest single jackpot win in US history — $758.7m — and promptly quit her.
In August 2017, 53-year-old nurse Mavis Wanczyk beat incredible odds (about 1 in 292 million) to become the sole winner of a $758.7 US Powerball jackpot. After she went public, Mavis Wanczyk scams comprising many different accounts and emails started cropping up almost immediately. In this article, we’ll tell you all about these scams, which continue to circulate, and how you can protect yourself—and your money—from falling victim.
Who Is Mavis Wanczyk?
Mavis Wanczyk lived in Chicopee in Hampden County, Massachusetts, and was working at a medical center in patient care when she won the US Powerball jackpot. Wanczyk, a mother of two adult children, took home $336,350,655 after taxes.
Despite what scammers would have you believe, Wanczyk had few plans after her big win, and none that involved giving away her prize money. At a press conference revealing her win, she disclosed that she immediately quit her job and planned to “sit back and relax” and enjoy her retirement.
Mavis Wanczyk Email Phishing Scam
Once Mavis came forward to claim her prize, it didn’t take long for scammers to take advantage. Within a week of her win, fraudsters began sending out emails claiming to come from Mavis and Deborah B. Goldberg, the Massachusetts State Treasurer and Receiver General.
The emails claim that Wanczyk must give away 10 percent of the $758.7 million jackpot, stating that the email recipient would receive a $758,700 “donation” along with 99 other lucky people. The email does not explain why Wanczyk would have to give away any of her prize money but gives a fake Gmail account that recipients can use to contact Wanczyk.
Treasurer Goldberg also addressed the email scam, warning residents to beware. By alerting the public, she hoped to ensure that residents would avoid being taken advantage of by falling prey to the scam.
Like many other phishing scams, the point of the fake email is to lure recipients into giving up personal information, including banking information. As Officer Wilk put it in another Facebook statement regarding the scam accounts, people who engage with the scammers usually end up losing money instead of gaining any.
Mavis Wanczyk Social Media Scams
Email wasn’t the only platform people used to spread their Mavis Wanczyk scam, as dozens of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts pretending to be Wanczyk were also created. The purpose of these accounts is to convince unsuspecting users to divulge personal information in exchange for a promised cut of the winnings. However, the scam accounts have no intention of giving away any cash and may use the personal information to steal money instead.
The fake accounts became such a problem that the Chicopee Police Department released a statement warning residents of the threat. Officer Michael Wilk published a Facebook post telling users that multiple accounts across social media platforms were using Wanczyk’s name to message people and promise them they would receive money if they replied. He advised people not to give out any personal information to these scam accounts.
Officer Wilk concluded his statement by encouraging people to report the accounts as fake whenever they came across them.
Mavis Wanczyk House
How to Protect Yourself from Scams
The best way to protect yourself from falling victim to lotto scams is simply to ignore them. If you receive a message through social media or an email, do not engage with the sender. Lottery winners are not searching the Internet for strangers to give their prize money to, so do not fall for that narrative.
To prevent these scams from gaining traction and finding victims, report them to either the social media platform you see them on or to the governing body in charge of scams and frauds. In the U.S., you can report common scams and fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If you live in another country, it might be a good idea to find out whether a similar organization exists or call your local police department for advice if you frequently have scammers contacting you.
If you ever find yourself the lucky winner of a jackpot, there are also ways to prevent your identity from being used for similar scams.
First, it would be best to wait for the media frenzy to die down before stepping forward to claim your prize. This way, you will attract less attention. Second, learn how to set up a lottery trust that will allow you to maintain anonymity when you receive your winnings. You can protect your identity all together by remaining anonymous.
Conclusion
While winning the lottery is an incredible experience, there are a lot of people who would use others’ good fortune to their advantage. Avoid these scams by ignoring messages that seem too good to be true—because they are.
Mavis Wanczyk Children
After a Chicopee resident won the Powerball jackpot last week, local police are warning residents that scammers are creating social media accounts in the winner’s name.
Mavis Wanczyk, 53, won the second largest jackpot in the lottery’s history last week, a $758.7 million prize.
Now, fake accounts offering some of that money are being made in Wanczyk’s name.
The Chicopee Police Department said in a Facebook post that it is “well aware of many fake accounts being created on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram stating that they are Mavis Wanczyk and that following and answering private messages will result in you getting money.”
Police are asking people to report any such accounts they see as fake on those social media platforms.
“PLEASE do not fall for these scams,” the department added. “DO NOT give out any personal information to these accounts. Do not fall victim to a scammer by releasing ANY of your information.”
One such Twitter account with the handle @MavisWanczyk758 said in a tweet on Monday, “I will be giving away a special gift to my first 100K followers! All you have to do is RT & follow this account & reply with Cash App ID :)” That account has only four tweets and was created this month.
An Instagram account with the name “maviswanczykpball” has only one post that shows a picture of Wanczyk with her Powerball check. The caption reads, “I will be giving away a [shout out] and a very special gift to my first 50,000 followers!!” The exact same post appears on an account with the name “maviswanczyk757” and is also that account’s only post.
A post shared by Mavis wanczyk (@maviswanczykpball) on
Wanczyk said at a news conference last week that she came forward only in hopes of getting the attention frenzy “over and done with” so that she could be left alone. She has not said if she plans to give any of the money away.
The former hospital worker seemed a bit overwhelmed at the focus on her after her win. When asked what she was going to do on the day the win was announced in order to celebrate, she said, “I’m going to go hide in my bed.”