SINGAPORE - Three employees working at a remittance company have been lauded by the police for their assistance in foiling a phone scam attempt.

The trio from Hanshan Money Express Remittance - Mr Li Shu, Ms Han Guiyuan and managing director Thng Koon Eng - were presented with public-spiritedness awards during a ceremony held at the Central Police Division on Thursday (July 7), said the police in a news release.

A suspected case of cheating was reported to the police by a staff from Hanshan on June 24, when it was established that an 80-year-old victim was scammed into remitting $180,000 to an overseas account.

Investigations revealed that the victim received a phone call on June 17, claiming that she had an illegal parcel overseas.

The call was subsequently transferred to another person claiming to be a police officer, who threatened the victim with imprisonment if she did not cooperate.

The victim was then instructed to call back at designated timings.

During one particular call, she was directed to meet a female suspect, who escorted her to the bank to make withdrawals before going to Hanshan.

But once at Hanshan, staff attending to the victim suspected something was amiss and began to probe on the purpose of the remittance.

She was unable to provide a good reason and after she left the premises, staff immediately called the police.

After investigations by officers from Central Division and the Commercial Affairs Department, the identity of the 65-year-old suspect was established with the help of Hanshan.

The suspect is currently assisting with investigations, while the money was fully recovered and returned to the victim.