Welcome Savings Bank said on Feb. 13 that an employee at its Seomyeon branch received a letter of appreciation from Busanjin Police Station for pre-emptively blocking voice phishing damage.

The letter was awarded after the employee protected a customer's assets on Jan. 16, when the customer was nearly deceived by a voice phishing ring impersonating a Welcome Savings Bank employee and almost lost 16 million won in cash.

Sensing a possible voice phishing scam, the employee immediately reported it to police and registered a blanket payment suspension and a safety blocking service on the customer's account. The employee persuaded the customer to prevent additional losses even as the scammers changed the meeting place and tried to induce the customer to install a remote-control app.

The case is assessed as the result not only of the frontline employee's quick thinking but also of regular voice phishing prevention training conducted by Welcome Savings Bank's Financial Consumer Protection Team.

A Welcome Savings Bank official said, "We are very proud that the efforts of our sales branches, which have worked on the front lines to protect customers' assets, have been recognised externally." The official added, "We will continue to strengthen companywide training and response systems to prevent financial damage and take the lead in protecting financial consumers."