[Digital Today reporter Ji-young Lee] Woori Bank is expanding its cooperation system with police to prevent losses from telecommunications-based financial fraud such as voice phishing.

Woori Bank said on July 12 it signed a business agreement at Gangbuk Police Station on July 10 to prevent losses from telecommunications-based financial fraud.

The agreement is a follow-up step to a cooperation system built earlier this year with Jungbu Police Station. Woori Bank plans to gradually expand a regional cooperation model between banks and police to build a financial fraud prevention network.

The two sides will push steps including sharing the latest financial fraud methods and damage cases, joint prevention activities and tailored training programmes.

In particular, Woori Bank and Gangbuk Police Station will set up a dedicated contact system. If a customer is involved in financial fraud such as voice phishing or is suspected of being a victim, the two sides plan to communicate immediately and begin an initial response.

The agreement is the first external cooperation project led by Jeon Jae-hong (전재홍), a financial crime investigation specialist and former police officer recently recruited by Woori Bank who serves as senior executive in charge of financial fraud prevention. Woori Bank explained that since Jeon joined, it has been applying his field investigation experience to its fraud prevention work and building a prevention-focused response system that goes beyond its fraud detection system (FDS).

Jeon said, "As the speed of an initial response determines the scale of damage in financial fraud, an organic cooperation system between police and financial institutions is more important than anything else." He added, "We will do our best to protect customers' valuable assets."