Dubai: Another scam is doing the rounds in UAE and this time, fraudsters are using a fake document from a regulatory agency to dupe the financial services community.
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) warned on Thursday that the scammers are using a false DFSA application form to fraudulently offer a “fund status recognition certificate” to applicants upon paying an application fee.
The DFSA is a regulatory body of the special economic zone, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It oversees hundreds of entities and authorised firms in the area.
“The false document misuses the name, address and logo of the DFSA, and claims to be subject to the copyright of Dubai Financial Services Authority,” the office said in a statement.
Scammers are also asking victims to pay an application fee of $120 (Dh440) to cover registration and administration fee, as well as “issuance endorsement stamp duties.”
The bottom of the fake application form appears to have been issued by “DFSA LLC.” But the public is advised that DFSA is not a limited liability company, and that no company named "Dubai Financial Services Authority LLC" exists in the UAE.
The office said it also does not issue any document called “fund status recognition certificate,” and that scammers are merely using the company logo for “malicious purposes.”
“The DFSA strongly advises that individuals and firms:
• do not respond to any communication from any party involved in perpetrating the scam; and
• that they should under no circumstances send or give any money to such parties in connection with the scam.”
