SINGAPORE - Telco Singtel has responded to a viral Facebook post about a purported "phishing bill scam", saying the bill issued was legitimate.

Facebook user Clarence Tan posted on the social media platform in the wee hours of Tuesday (May 22), saying he was not a Singtel customer but received a billing letter from them.

"I received a phishing mail that looks exactly like Singtel's letter asking me to pay $8.35," he wrote.

He then called the telco and spoke to a customer support officer who said "they had been receiving countless calls about this". He said he was told that "it was a phishing mail and had been ongoing for quite some time".

He posted a photo of the bill, which indicated the total amount due was $8.35.

Mr Tan asked the public to call the police if they received similar "phishing mail" and the post was shared almost 4,000 times.

However, Singtel in a statement on its Facebook page on Wednesday said "the bills in question are indeed issued by Singtel and are accurate".

It added that its customer care officer "incorrectly informed Mr Tan that the bill was a scam" and apologised for it.

"We are currently in the process of moving all customer accounts to a new billing system and these bills are determined to be the final bills of terminated accounts," said Singtel. "We will follow up with affected customers where applicable."

Mr Tan edited his post on Wednesday after Singtel put up its statement.

ST has contacted Singtel for more information.