Public urged to ignore “president” calls, royal invitations and bogus URA notices demanding payment.

Police are warning Singapore residents to be cautious of online invitations to meet supposed high-profile figures and of fake URA e-mails on parking fines, as scammers increasingly impersonate officials and agencies to steal money and personal data.

Fake ‘High-Profile’ Virtual Meetings And NDAs
On May 6, police issued an advisory warning the public to be wary of invitations to virtual meetings with supposed senior government officials, members of royalty or celebrities. Victims are first contacted over social media or direct messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram. Scammers then persuade them to transfer money for investments or other pretexts, sometimes claiming there will be gifts or even offers to join a royal family. In several cases, victims were told to attend an online session with “the president, ministers and other government officials” and asked to provide their e-mail address to receive a non-disclosure agreement for the meeting.

How Impersonation Scammers Steal Data And Money
After securing an e-mail address, fraudsters send a sham NDA and instruct victims to endorse it and submit a copy of their identification card. This gives scammers sensitive personal data they can reuse or sell. Victims typically realise they have been duped only when they are asked to transfer more funds, or when they verify the requests with the real individuals or offices allegedly involved. Police stress that Singapore government officials will never ask the public to transfer money, share bank login details, install apps from unofficial stores or “transfer” a phone call to the police or any other agency.

URA Flags Fake Parking Fine Emails With ‘Pay Now’ Button
Separately, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) posted on Facebook on May 6 about scam e-mails impersonating the agency and demanding payment of supposed outstanding parking fines. These messages include a “Pay Now” button and display URA’s real contact number and website address to appear legitimate. URA clarified that such e-mails are not from the agency and urged the public not to click links or make payments through them. Official URA notices for parking fines are issued as hard-copy letters and electronically via channels using the “gov.sg” sender ID, and payments should only be made through URA’s website or AXS channels.

How To Check Parking Fines And Verify Contact
Members of the public who want to verify whether they have outstanding fines can visit URA’s official portal at go.gov.sg/ura-pf. Authorities emphasise that people should never rely solely on links in e-mails or messages, even if they appear to contain genuine phone numbers or web addresses. Instead, they should manually navigate to official sites or use trusted government apps. Any suspicious communication claiming to be from URA or other agencies should be reported, and recipients should avoid providing personal identifiers, card details or bank information in response.

Staying Safe From Impersonation And Payment Scams
Police and URA remind residents that they should never transfer money or share identification details with strangers or unverified contacts. Government agencies will not surprise people with requests for urgent payments over e-mail, chat apps or unsolicited calls. If approached with offers of virtual meetings with famous figures, invitations to join elite circles or sudden notices of outstanding fines, individuals should treat them as red flags and check directly with the relevant authority via official contact channels. Prompt reporting of such attempts helps protect others and supports ongoing investigations.

The latest alerts on fake VIP virtual meetings and bogus URA parking fine e-mails highlight how scammers are refining impersonation tactics to exploit trust in public institutions and well-known personalities. For Indonesians and Singaporeans, the message is clear: pause before clicking or paying, verify independently through official channels and remember that real government officials and agencies will never ask for money, bank logins or app installs through unsolicited digital messages.

Sources: Straits Times (2026) , Asia One (2026)

Keywords: Virtual Meeting Scam, High Profile Impersonation, NDA Request Fraud, URA Fake Email, Parking Fine Phishing, Gov Sg Security Reminder