The Dubai Financial Services Authority “DFSA” alerts the financial services community and members of the public about a fraudulent scheme in which the DFSA and its Chairman were impersonated.

The scammers, using the DFSA logo, issued a fake letter purporting to be from the “Office of the Administrator” and the DFSA’s Chairman, while a bank and two UAE government entities were purported to have been copied in. The fake letter appears to have been sent to an individual in South Korea who was listed as the beneficiary of a USD 15 million transfer. The letter stated that in order for the UAE government to allow such a transfer, a second individual was required to travel to South Korea which would cost USD 3,500 in travel expenses.  The scammers further claimed this money needed to be transferred by the first individual to the DFSA. A copy of the fake letter can be found here.

In an attempt to authenticate the scam, the perpetrators of the scam fraudulently used the following without permission:
• The name, logo, address and purported stamp of the DFSA; and
• The name and purported stamp of DFSA’s Chairman.

The DFSA confirms that the letter is false. The DFSA informs you that it does not:
• have an office or function referred to as the “Office of the Administrator”;
• get involved in these types of transfers of large sums of money to individuals for no legitimate purpose or rationale;
• require other individuals to travel for the purposes of the safety or security of such transfers; or
• charge for travel expenses in advance of such transfers.

The DFSA strongly advises that you do not respond to the perpetrators in relation to the scam, and under no circumstances should you send or give any money to any party in connection with 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, including Advance Fee 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