+155 @ParadiseSold I had a woodwork situation in my life once. Not money, I left the Mormon church and it's crazy how many people were suddenly interested in knowing my location. You'll be surprised by who outs you

+73 @celiacsunshine If they're unable to go after you, they'll go after your family, friends, anyone you might've shared some of your jackpot with, or who could potentially get in touch with you.

+46 @daisymaisy505 Desperate people are desperate. “Hey, we have the same last name, must mean we are relatives. Btw, I am low on cash for rent this month…” I also think you help someone once, they figure you’re an easy mark. And they usually start with a low monetary amount but it goes up over time. The key is to tell everyone that your lawyer is the one who handles ALL transactions; it takes it out of your hands. Someone mentioned this because they knew their family would ask them to invest in a new business they wanted to start. He told them to write up a business plan and give it to his lawyer for approval. They never had a business plan, just wanted to open a bakery with no planning. This spared feelings and hopefully made the relatives realize it wasn’t easy money.

+44 @LPNTed The thing is, you'll invariably have a contact point.. for me, it would easily be my parents. I'm not sure how they would navigate something like this, and asking them to change their contact information is not viable.

+31 @nofilmincamera I think it will depend on a couple of factors: first, the amount of the win, and the socioeconomic status of your friends and family. I know we would get maybe a little noise from my side of the family. We are sort of the black sheep of the family on my Dad's side. My Mom's side are all well off, not all millionaires but close. My family grew up really poor, but everyone is doing okay now. The few people that would expect to be given some amount of money, they would get it, and I don't have too much worry. My wife's side of the family, I don't need to guess. They straight up call me Richie Rich because we bought a house. Now in today's real estate market, I kind of get it. But we bought in 2019, just before it all went to hell. We try to do what we can and help with groceries for her sister and kids. We did the same for her grandmother. The number of times cousins or sisters made snide comments, "Must be nice." Until recently, we drove a 10-year-old car, and that was it. We make what in 2010 would have been an upper-middle-class wage, but just isn't anymore. One time one of her cousins told us her grandma was homeless just to extract money. I don't write this to judge poor people. The thing is, when you do not have many options, you try and take every shot at an option as you can. Do I think the woodwork is manageable? Absolutely. Unlisted numbers, PO Box, etc. But if you net 200 million dollars, it will really not be smart to be living in an area where you are THE big fish. Growing up, there was a gas station owner worth maybe 10 million dollars in our poor town. EVERYONE knew who this guy was. I mean 4th graders gossiped about what this guy was like and daydreamed about getting money from him. What kind of fourth grader does that? Someone with a lot of uncertainty and lack of options. So I think the woodwork depends on socioeconomic status of friends, family, and where you live relative to the amount of money. I think take some steps to be safe, and live somewhere that you don't standout.

+30 @Idratherbesleepingzz Just imagine what it’s like trying to get rid of someone trying to rope you into their MLM scheme. People stab each other over chicken sandwiches, you really think people wouldn’t do some crazy shit for that kind of money? Thank god I live in a state where I can remain anonymous should I ever win lol

+27 @LaseMe I also think the “most people who win end up broke” is over estimated too.

+22 @Chance-Work4911 There are people in this world that just want to exploit those that have more. Example: recent trend on social media tells us to send a wedding invitation to all the billionaires you can find a mailing address for in the hopes their assistants and secretaries don't bother to validate the relationship to the couple and just sends a gift. It's shit like this that makes all of us look like beggars and further enforces the concept that if someone I might possibly know or can dupe into believing they know me wins it big I should at least attempt to get a cut of it.

+22 @O00OOO00O0 It's not just about hiding yourself unless you plan to tell no one and cut off all contacts with anyone you knew before. It's about every single person you want to keep in your life and be a normal part of it becoming an entry point into your life. They don't track you down personally, they get your information from your mom or brother or cousin who knows how to get in contact with you. This means anyone you entrust with your address and contact information is now going to be a target for anyone who wants to get to you. Scammers and old friends and family members alike will harass the ones closest to you. Going full on public means anyone who has ever been closely associated with you is going to have to uproot their lives and change all their contact information as well as cut off acquaintances to be able to have some peace. That's going to get expensive too. There's no good reason to go public unless you have no choice not to. If you do, take precautions to mitigate the risks with the advice of an attorney. Aside from flexing it, no one needs to know.

+12 @Buckar007 Desperate & motivated people know nothing of personal space or boundaries. 

+11 @SCM801 Or just block everyone asking you for money

+11 @darkgothamite Part of me welcomes the grifters and what about me folks - I don't have a problem saying NO. The other part of me would be concerned if and when my mother gets harassed and guilted into sharing the wealth. I don't want to force her to change her number or automatically ghost the few friends/family she speak with. My sister I'm not worried about- she's a lot like me and would quickly get a new number (keep/monitor her current number for curiosities sake, I would too) When my dad died of covid complications back in 2020, I was on his WhatsApp, trying to figure out who I could contact. I immediately got a message from an alleged friend of his who offered his condolences and in the next line said my dad owed him money. I immediately closed the app and the phone, didn't open it for a while. I admittedly got scared lol my dad and I weren't exactly close and if memory serves - he wasn't someone who saved or too responsible with his money. I freaked out a bit but reminded myself I don't owe my father's debts (if this was legit or not) but yeah this is also something I'd be worried about, the people my dad knew coming out of the woodwork. Not that I would fall for any of it, just that I'd be genuinely sad. Reason enough why I'm firm about getting a lawyer immediately after winning. You owe this, you owe that, I knew your dad, you hit my car last weekend, your mom pledged money to this mosque 6 years ago, etc

+11 @michedi My buddy would have to know because it would be hard to explain how I'm able to fly us to the Super Bowl and NBA finals every year. He can be trusted, but he would then have to tell his wife, and she would blab to all her friends and family. Woodwork.

+9 @InsuranceNo3422 If I won the lottery and some of those people came up out of the woodwork I think I'd enjoy throwing it in their face and telling them no. "Oh haven't talked to you in years, let's go to lunch!" Go to super expensive place, order big. When the waiter comes around "separate checks please". Screw 'em. You'd have enough money to hire security, and youd have enough money to hire lawyers to fight any frivolous legal claims.