The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and members of the public to a fake email in which the DFSA was impersonated.
This is a fee payment scam, in which the scammers claiming to be from the DFSA have sent an email purportedly from the DFSA requesting payment for a service. The email is titled “DFSA LICENSED FEE”. The email states:
“…your license application has been reviewed under the exec6utive council law (no4) and certification in process. Client/ billing Information will be found in the file attached to the mail. You are obliged to send a screenshot of the payment. Note: express takes (3) working days, while regular takes (14) working days.”
The email is signed off by the DFSA Head Office and provides a support email address: “[email protected]”.
The email contains an attachment labelled: “DFSA LICENSE PAYMENT FORM”, the attachment is titled: “CRYPTO LICENSE PAYMENT FORM”.
The form asks for details including the recipient’s:
The form provides payment details with the option for an express service priced at $4,700 or regular service priced at $3,200. The form also provides a bitcoin address for crypto payments to be sent to.
In an attempt to make the scam seem authentic, the scammers fraudulently used the DFSA logo without permission.
The DFSA informs you that:
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 DIFC on Tel:+971 4 362 2222 and to the DFSA via the DFSA Complaints function on: COMPLAINTS
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