419 scam: Cedric Yao <tduk44@gmail.com> Hello.

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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "transferred into your bank account" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Cedric Yao <tduk44@gmail.com>
Reply-To: cedricyao.ci@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2023 17:41:44 +0000
Subject: Hello.

*Greetings*,
Please, I would like to introduce you to a business proposal that will be
of great benefit to us. I am the Deputy Production Manager of the SociÃ©tÃ©
Ivoirienne de Raffinage of Ivory Coast. I will want you to assist me in the
claim and transfer of Seven Million Euros to your account.
This amount was realized from an over-invoiced contract amount awarded by
us in 2015 to expatriate companies. The contract's amount was deliberately
overestimated to read more than the actual cost of the project thus leaving
a surplus of Seven Million Euros. However, as a staff of SIR, I cannot
claim this money without a foreign partner who will act as the contract
beneficiary and as such, entitled to receive the funds as payment. This is
why I am contacting you to allow this money to be transferred into your
bank account and to be my custodian for the money.
If you are willing to assist me in this transaction please get back to me
so that I can give you more details for you to understand everything
perfectly. I am willing to give you 30% of this money, the rest will be
held and released to me when I get to your country. I look forward to
hearing from you.
Regards,
*Cedric Yao.*

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam