The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and the public to a series of scams involving fraudulent letters and trading platforms claiming to be from Cresen Ltd or the DFSA.

The fake letters, purporting to be from Cresen Ltd or the DFSA, claim that withdrawal requests have been put on hold for various reasons and demand a registration fee to release funds.

To appear legitimate, the scammers have:

• created fraudulent trading platforms (trade.cresen-ltd.com and trade.cresenltd.com);
• set up a fraudulent email address ([email protected]);
• used a fake Cresen Ltd logo without the firm’s permission; and
• used a fake DFSA stamp and logo on the letters.

The DFSA informs you that:

• the letters and trading platforms are fraudulent – they were not issued nor operated by, and are not linked to, Cresen Ltd or the DFSA;
• Cresen Ltd does not have any trading platform accessible to retail or other investors;
• Cresen Ltd does not currently have an operating website;
• all legitimate Cresen email addresses end with “@cresen.com”; and
• the DFSA does not permit the use of its stamp or logo on any communications without express permission.

 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 this 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 Dubai International Financial Centre (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.