The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has issued a public alert regarding a sophisticated scam involving fraudulent claims that the regulator is holding boxes of cash and gold bars belonging to victims. The scammers demand an advance fee, falsely representing it as a necessary cost to release these alleged assets.
According to the DFSA, fraudsters impersonate officials from a non-existent Compliance Department within the regulator. They inform recipients that a package registered in their name, containing money and gold, is being held by the DFSA and must be paid a fee amounting to 11.1 percent of its supposed value to allow the package to "leave the country." The scammers pressure victims to pay quickly by imposing strict deadlines.
To lend credibility to their claims, the perpetrators send AI-generated images showing the alleged package placed on a desk inside the DFSA's office, often featuring the DFSA logo prominently in the background. These visuals include the recipient's name and address, intending to convince targets of the package’s authenticity.
The DFSA clarified that it does not hold any physical assets such as money or gold bars, nor does it charge fees for releasing packages or have any Compliance Department tasked with such matters. Additionally, official DFSA communications never come from email addresses ending with “@dfsafocals.com,” a domain fraudsters currently use.
The authority cautioned the public to remain alert for several red flags associated with this scam. These include receiving unsolicited notifications about valuable packages without prior entitlement, demands for upfront payments, impersonation of DFSA personnel, the creation of false deadlines to prompt immediate payment, and the use of artificial images to validate the scam narrative.
To protect themselves, the DFSA urged individuals to avoid paying money to access promised funds, prizes, or inheritances and to verify suspicious messages through official channels listed on its website rather than contacting numbers or addresses provided in unsolicited communications. It also recommended carefully inspecting sender email addresses for inconsistencies, being wary of requests for secrecy or urgent payments, and never disclosing sensitive personal or banking information in response to unexpected inquiries.
If a payment has already been made, the DFSA advised contacting one’s bank immediately to attempt a payment recall and preserving all related correspondence and documents as evidence. The regulator strongly discouraged responding to suspicious communications or transferring funds and encouraged the public to report any suspected fraudulent contact through the DFSA Complaints function.