The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has issued a warning about a fraudulent scheme involving a letter sent to private homeowners that requests their tenants to register for tenancy. According to the advisory, the letter falsely claims to be from URA and instructs private homeowners to transfer a “validation fee” to a designated bank account in order to register their tenants. The letter contains URA’s logo, physical and website addresses, and is signed off by an individual named “Andrew Chia” purporting to be the “Head, Registration of Lease (Consumer)” of URA.
In response, URA stated, “The letter is not from URA. We also do not require private homeowners to register their tenants. In addition, there is no ‘Registration of Lease’ department nor staff named ‘Andrew Chia’ in URA.” The authority has lodged a police report on the matter and advises the public to be cautious against falling victim to such scams.
Furthermore, URA provided several precautionary measures to prevent individuals from becoming victims of scams, including the recommendation to lodge a police report if such letters are received or if there are suspicions of being targeted by a scam. URA also emphasized the importance of verifying the authenticity of information before taking any action and cautioned against accessing URL links provided in unsolicited emails, text messages, and hardcopy letters. Additionally, the public is advised not to disclose personal and financial information to anyone, as government organizations do not request such details.
The advisory concludes with URA’s hotline number (1799) for individuals to verify if they have been targeted by a scam and reassures the public that government organizations do not request sensitive personal or financial information.
