The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and the public to a recruitment scam involving the impersonation of the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA).

In one case, the scammers who falsely claimed to be DIFCA employees on social media:

• contacted a person on an online professional network platform;
• falsely claimed to be recruiting for an internship program organised by DIFCA;
• held an online interview with the person, following which the scammers made the person a fictitious job offer;
• provided the person with a fake employment contract impersonating the DIFCA;
• offered to assist the person to secure an accommodation in Dubai and provided a fake tenancy contract.

The scammers then asked the person to pay a deposit of EUR 1,585 for the fake accommodation and EUR 225 for the visa and other fees, which they did.

In an attempt to make the scam seem authentic, the scammers have fraudulently impersonated the DIFCA by:

• sending communications from fictitious DIFCA employees using a fake email address; namely, [email protected].  
• registering the name of the email address used in the scam as [email protected]. Therefore, in the scam emails, the sender was displayed as “[email protected]<[email protected]>”;
• using the DIFCA logo and stamp without authority or permission.

The DFSA informs you that:

• these email communications are fraudulent and were not sent by the DIFCA;
• the email address used by the scammers is not legitimate and does not belong to the DIFCA; and
• the DIFCA does not collect deposits for accommodation or collect visa or other fees as part of its recruitment process.

The DFSA strongly advises you not to respond to any communications regarding this scam, and under no circumstances should you send or give any money to any party connected to 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