The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and the public about an advanced fee scam in which scammers impersonate the DFSA, the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFC), a legitimate Authorised Firm in the DIFC and a legitimate bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The scammers contact consumers (the Victims) offering personal or business loans subject to the payment of an advanced fee. In doing so, the scammers fraudulently:Copies of the fraudulent “Loan Application Form”; “Loan Agreement”; “DIFC Commercial License”; and “DFSA Certificate of Incorporation” can be found here.The DFSA informs you that:The DFSA strongly advises that individuals do not respond to any communication regarding the scam, and under no circumstances should they send any money to any party involved in the scam.

The DFSA has a page on its website dedicated to alerts which it has issued about scams. All alerts issued by the DFSA may be accessed by going to: ALERTS.

The DFSA has also issued warnings and guidance about the common types of scams perpetrated on consumers. For more information on these scams, please go to: HOW TO AVOID BEING SCAMMED.The DFSA encourages consumers to refer to the list of regulated Firms and Authorised Individuals licensed by the DFSA that is available on the DFSA's PUBLIC REGISTER.

If you have any concerns about the authenticity of any correspondence or documents that purport to be issued by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), DFSA or a DFSA regulated Firm, you should direct your concerns to the DIFC on Tel:+971 4 362 2222 and to the DFSA via the DFSA Complaints function on: COMPLAINTS.