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09 May 2023, 07:55 am | Regulator or Authority Impersonation

Fake Email impersonating the DFSA and a member of the DFSA’s senior management

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and members of the public to a fake email in which the DFSA and a member of the DFSA’s senior management were impersonated.

The scammers sent an email to members of the public purportedly from the DFSA’s Head of Legal Affairs stating that their email address was found on the computer database of an ‘online fraudster’ being investigated by the DFSA ‘Task-force’ and therefore they were eligible to receive USD8,400,000 as a beneficiary from the recovered funds.        

The email also requests that the recipient contact the purported “Personal Contact Email” of the DFSA’s “General Secretary and Head of Legal Affairs” providing their personal information, so that the DFSA can “enhance the fund compensation with immediate effect”.  

In an attempt to make the scam seem authentic, the scammers fraudulently used the name, position held and purported email signature of the DFSA’s Head of Legal Affairs without permission.

The DFSA informs you that:

  • the email is false, fraudulent and was not sent by the DFSA;
  • the email address provided by the scammers for communications, [email protected], is not a legitimate DFSA email address as the DFSA does not use Yandex addresses;
  • the email address from which the email was sent - namely, johnmutu.dhl@gmail.com, is also not legitimate;
  • there is no such office as the “General Secretary” of the DFSA; and
  • the DFSA is not administering any compensation fund and nor is it making any transfers of 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 suggests that firms and individuals can avoid being scammed by:

  • checking the relevant regulatory status of a person before doing business with them;
  • only doing 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
  • obtaining 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 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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