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Representatives from the National Police Agency and Toss Bank pose for a commemorative photograph after executing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at preventing and eradicating telecommunications financial fraud, held at the Toss Sinnonhyeon Office in Seoul on the afternoon of May 27. / Photo courtesy of the National Police Agency

The National Police Agency and Toss Bank are launching a joint infrastructure initiative utilizing retired police officers to construct a community-based safety net for financial fraud prevention.

The National Police Agency announced on May 28 that it executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Toss Bank on the afternoon of May 27 at the Toss Sinnonhyeon Office in Seoul, aimed at preventing and eradicating telecommunications financial fraud.

The agreement was forged to channel the deep, on-field experience of retired police officers into preventative campaigns targeting financial fraud networks, such as voice phishing. Under the banner of the "Our Neighborhood Financial Fraud Prevention Officers" initiative, both institutions will deploy tailored preventative education and local patrols optimized for senior citizens and other financially vulnerable demographics.

The task force consists of 28 retired police officers. Toss Bank selected the personnel this past April and put them through a month-long training program. Their active operational window will run from this coming June through October. Operating in two-person teams, they will be deployed across the jurisdictions of 14 police stations throughout the Seoul metropolitan area, including Gangser, Yangcheon, Guro, Mapo, Yeongdeungpo, Geumcheon, Gwanak, Yongsan, Seongdong, Dongdaemun, Seocho, Gangnam, Suseo, and Songpa.

The prevention officers will educate middle-aged and elderly demographics aged 50 and above on real-world financial fraud case studies alongside immediate, step-by-step counteraction protocols when targeted by phishing scams. Utilizing local community policing centers as their operational hubs, they will also run routine patrols around high-risk vectors, including bank automated teller machines (ATMs), hospitality lodging facilities, and subway station storage lockers.

This inaugural class of prevention officers boasts an average of over 30 years of law enforcement experience per individual. The roster also includes veteran investigators with extensive backgrounds in specialized anti-voice-phishing task forces and related financial crime units.

As financial fraud methodologies grow increasingly sophisticated, the National Police Agency plans to ramp up practical, case-driven preventative education focused heavily on financially vulnerable populations trapped in information blind spots.

"This program carries profound significance as the specialized expertise and raw field experience of retired police officers converge into a new social responsibility: financial fraud prevention," noted Oh Chang-bae, Director of the Telecommunications Financial Fraud Integrated Response Task Force at the National Police Agency. "In close coordination with Toss Bank, we will do our utmost to ensure that citizens can navigate their daily lives safe from the threat of financial fraud."

                                                                                                            Seol So-young