The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and the public to a fake notice in which the DFSA and the Chief Executive of the DFSA, Mark Steward, were impersonated.

The scammers sent a fake notice (the Notice) to individuals and Firms giving them notice that their employees need to hold a ‘regulated certification and license’ under the DFSA. The Notice is titled: “MODIFICATION NOTICE”

In the Notice, the scammers fraudulently:

• uses a legitimate DFSA Firm Reference Number belonging to a legitimate DFSA authorised firm;
• claim that the Notice has been issued under Regulatory Law;

In addition, the Notice:

• claims to be from Mark Steward, the Chief Executive of the DFSA; and
• uses the logo of the DFSA without permission or authority.

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 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, 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