Woori Bank deploys AI fraud system and hires ex-police expert in Korea

Woori Bank will launch a new system to block financial fraud by combining Generative AI and telecommunications information. Woori Bank also hired a former police investigative expert who led the arrest of a voice phishing ring leader.

Woori Bank said it will strengthen its financial fraud prevention system centered on a dedicated unit, former police specialists, and the fraudulent transaction detection system (FDS), after holding a "financial fraud prevention press briefing" at its headquarters in Jung District, Seoul, on the 12th. It plans to build a -generation detection framework using Generative AI and telecommunications data and expand information sharing with financial and investigative authorities.

Jeong Jin-wan, Woori Bank president, said, "Because preventing financial fraud is protecting not only customers' asset but also trust in finance, we are pursuing it as a top management priority," adding, "Once damage occurs, it is already too late. We will go a step beyond post-relief to identify risks early and preemptively block them before harm occurs."

Woori Bank will operate a new AI monitoring system month and work to stabilize it by year-end. While the existing FDS detected anomalies based on preset rules and financial transaction information, the bank plans to use Generative AI to analyze new financial fraud schemes and suspicious transaction patterns to boost detection capabilities.

It is also pushing to build a -generation FDS that links not only financial transaction data such as account transfers, deposits and withdrawals, card payments, and overseas remittances, but also electronic finance FDS, login records, and product usage information. The aim is to more broadly analyze anomalies in financial transactions and supplement the limits of the current detection system.

Woori Bank has hired a former police investigative expert and created a department dedicated to preventing financial fraud. Jeon Jae-hong, the head senior manager of the financial fraud prevention department, the first such hire in the banking sector, is a financial fraud investigation expert who worked in the police for 24 years and retired as a senior superintendent. Jeon led the arrests of executives including the ringleader of the first-generation voice phishing ring "Head of Team Kim Mi-young," and investigations into overseas voice phishing rings.

Jeon said, "In the past, a single ring committed crimes mainly by phone, but recently the development of technology, luring victims and executing crimes, and moving and laundering funds have each become specialized," adding, "As AI-driven financial fraud is expected to gain more ground, we have no choice but to respond with AI."

Woori Bank said it is also achieving results in preventing damage using the existing FDS. From April to August this year, it forwarded 639 pieces of information suspected of money laundering from the FDS to the anti-money laundering (AML) department, of which 83 led to suspicious transaction reports (STR) after further analysis. During the same period, it also shared with the financial sector, through the AI platform for sharing and analyzing voice phishing information (ASAP), information on 664 suspicious accounts at other banks.

Jeon said, "We expect AI to perform in a short time tasks that are difficult for people to handle one by one or that take a long time," adding, "We will strengthen the responsibility and expertise of the dedicated department to become a bank that leads in preventing financial fraud."