Fraudsters are reportedly impersonating the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, a legitimate authorised firm in Dubai and a legitimate bank elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates.

The scammers contact consumers offering personal or business loans subject to the payment of an advanced fee. They refer to themselves as the Dubai Financial Service Corporation LLC and say that their headquarters is ‘DFSA Corporate House.’ Their advertised email address is Dubaifinancialserviceloans@outlook.com and the Skype ID that they give is “Dubaifinancialserviceloans. These contact particulars are not associated with the DFSA.

The scammers send a loan application form and a loan agreement to each victim. These documents falsely refer to the Dubai Financial Service Corporation LLC as the lender and both use the DFSA logo. The loan agreement says, erroneously, that the victim must obtain an insurance covering bond certificate from a legitimate DFSA-authorised firm. The scammers also provide each victim with a fake DFSA certificate of incorporation and a fake DIFC commercial licence alleged to be from a legitimate DFSA-authorised firm. The loan agreement also peddles the lie that the recipient must receive the loan from the Dubai Financial Service Corporation LLC through a legitimate bank in the UAE.

The fraudsters also claim that, in order to apply for the loan, the victim has to complete the loan application form and sign the loan agreement; pay a registration/processing fee (the advance fee) of at least US$6,150 to Dubai Financial Service Corporation LLC; and pay for the production of several legal documents from different authorities in the UAE. The advance fees for these legal documents are payable by the victim to the bank from which the lender transfers funds to the Dubai Financial Service Corporation LLC. The fraudsters also claim to appoint “credit and loans authorised representatives” internationally by entering into an “agent contract” with these people. These representatives then facilitate or arrange loans to the victims. 

There is no such company as the “Dubai Financial Service Corporation LLC”, and the address and other contact details given for this company are also fake. Advance fee fraud occurs when fraudsters persuade the credulous to make up-front payments for financial gains that do not materialise.