The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and members of the public to a fake letter in which the DFSA, a member of the DFSA’s senior management and Mashreq Capital were impersonated.
This is an advanced fee scam, in which the scammers claiming to be from Mashreq Capital, called a member of the public and sent a letter purportedly from the DFSA’s Chief Operating Officer. The letter is titled “Approval of release of funds from the tax authority” The letter states:
“After submitting all the documents required to prove legality of the amount $52,790
…the amount has been released in full after payment of 8% of its value (4,223$)
The money was successfully transferred to the DFSA account at the Central bank of the UAE
The amount will be transferred to the beneficiaries”
The letter then lists the name of the recipient and the eligible monetary amount.
In an attempt to make the scam seem authentic, the scammers fraudulently used the DFSA logo and the DIFC logo and they used the name, position held and purported email signature of a member of the DFSA’s Chief Operating Officer without permission.
The DFSA informs you that:
- The letter is false, fraudulent and was not sent by the DFSA;
- Mashreq Capital did not call the recipient;
- The telephone number provided by the scammers for communications, +971 4 562 0997, is not a legitimate DFSA telephone number;
- The DFSA does not approve the release of funds from the tax authority; and
- The DFSA does not transfer money to members of the public
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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