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

As part of an advance fee scam, scammers send fake letters by email with the subject “Official notice: Authorization for conditional release of client investment proceeds” (the Fake Letters). The Fake Letters state that between USD 20 million and USD 200 million of investment funds have been identified as being held at a UAE bank on behalf of the letter’s recipient under a temporary withdrawal restriction. The Fake Letters set out the process for obtaining a “Fund Release Authorization Certificate (FRAC)” needed to release the funds.

The Fake Letters, bearing the logo of the DFSA and purporting to be signed by the DFSA’s Chief Operating Officer, Juma Thani Alhameli, on behalf of the DFSA’s International Capital Oversight Division, are fraudulent and not issued by the DFSA. The DFSA does not issue “Fund Release Authorization Certificates” or any other licenses or certifications for the purpose of releasing frozen or restricted funds and does not have an International Capital Oversight Division.

Where recipients of the Fake Letter have engaged with the scammers to obtain a FRAC to release the fictional restricted funds, including paying fees of USD 3,600, the scammers have sought to elicit further payments by requesting fees to obtain a “digital verification package” offering options costing between USD 12,500 and USD 37,500. The scammers seek to apply pressure and urgency by indicating that the previously issued fictious FRAC was only valid for 30 days and should expire before the “digital verification” had taken place they would need to reapply for a new FRAC, including the associated fees.

Impersonating a genuine employee of the DFSA, the scammers correspond via email using a Gmail email address and not an official DFSA email address.

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 see 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.