The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and members of the public about a fraud in which the DFSA’s Chief Executive has been impersonated.

As part of the fraud, scammers contact a DFSA Authorised Firm by email.  The email falsely claims to be from the DFSA’s Chief Executive with the email subject title “Dubai Financial Services Authority | Jury Decision”.  The address of the sender’s email ends in “@mail.com”.

A letter attached to the email uses the DFSA logo, refers to a Consultation Paper and contains a link to the website where genuine DFSA Consultation Papers are found.

Please click here to view the fake letter.

The DFSA advises that:
• the email and letter are fake, they have not been sent by the DFSA;
• scammers have used the name of DFSA, and that of its Chief Executive, without authority of the DFSA; and
• the DFSA does not send emails using generic or web-based email addresses and does not use email addresses ending in “@mail.com”.

The DFSA suggests that firms and individuals can avoid being scammed by considering the following steps:
• check the relevant regulatory status of a person before doing business with them;
• only do business with firms or individuals you trust.  Dealing with people you have never met may carry a higher risk; be particularly cautious when receiving unsolicited communications; and
• obtain independent professional advice before entering into any investment or transaction.

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

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