The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and the public to a scam in which the DFSA has been impersonated.

The scammers use a fraudulent “Official Notice” purporting to be from the DFSA requiring the payment of a fee to “establish the connection between your bank account and the transit financial corridor in Dubai”. The scammers claim that the fee is necessary to receive profits from an investment in cryptocurrency.

The letter falsely claims to have been issued by the DFSA and is signed by a fake DFSA employee. In this letter, the scammers also use without permission, the logos and a stamp from several Dubai Authorities.

The DFSA informs you that:

•  the “Official Notice” is fraudulent and was not sent by the DFSA;
• the DFSA does not require advance fees to release profits of investments; and
• the DFSA does not establish connections between bank accounts and financial corridors in Dubai.

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 DIFC Authority, DFSA or a DFSA regulated Firm, you should direct your concerns to the DIFC Authority on Tel: +971 4 362 2222 and to the DFSA via the DFSA Complaints function on Complaints 

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