The scammers are offering consumers a variety of services; including stock trading portfolios, e-marketing in Dubai, networking with 2,430 companies worldwide, financing, debt insurance and credit cards.
In order to access the services, consumers and companies have to pay a fee of $4,600 (£3,299, €3,717) to an agent in Dubai, London or Mexico and complete a registration form and attach identification documents.
To support their claims, the scammers use documents incorporating the DIFC logo and the email address difc-reg-office@protonmail.com.
Malicious purpose
The DFSA has strongly advised that “individuals do not respond to any communication regarding the scam and under no circumstances should they send any money to any party involved”.
It strongly reiterated that the DIFC does not provide any of the services the fraudsters are offering and is not associated with the email address they use.
The scammers have “fraudulently used the name of the DIFC, without authority and for a malicious purpose”, the DFSA statement said.