Program covers voice phishing prevention, insurance claim practice

Next year to expand regions and add children, people with disabilities

A KB Insurance employee conducts the "Financial Safety Support" outreach program at a community center in Seoseohak-dong, Jeonju, on March 20. [KB Insurance]
A KB Insurance employee conducts the "Financial Safety Support" outreach program at a community center in Seoseohak-dong, Jeonju, on March 20. [KB Insurance]

KB Insurance announced Wednesday that it ran its "Financial Safety Support" outreach program this year across 26 regions nationwide, reaching 1,050 financially vulnerable people.

The program sends company employees directly into local communities to provide financial fraud prevention education and practical financial guidance for elderly residents and others who have difficulty visiting bank branches in person. It was launched in response to concerns that, while mobile banking has become routine amid the digital transition, older adults still struggle to use mobile financial services and remain exposed to scams such as voice phishing and smishing.

Data obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Min Byeong-deok of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Financial Supervisory Service showed that from 2022 through the first half of this year, people aged 60 and older suffered 53,139 cases of telecommunications financial fraud, with losses reaching 885 billion won ($660 million).

KB Insurance launched the program in Jeonju this year and expanded it to 26 regional units nationwide, including Cheongju, Jinju, Mokpo, Gwangju, Daejeon, Daegu and Jeju, holding sessions at community centers, senior welfare centers, senior citizens' halls and village meeting halls.

Rather than focusing on lectures, the program emphasized hands-on financial support. Participants received fraud prevention education, practiced filing insurance claims themselves, and learned basic smartphone functions and how to use mobile services.

KB Insurance said it excluded all product sales and marketing activities from the program, concentrating solely on financial safety education and practical everyday support. The aim is to narrow the digital divide that can emerge during the transition to digital finance and help vulnerable groups protect themselves from financial fraud.

Participants said they learned what to do when they receive a suspicious text message, and for some it was the first time they had learned how to send documents using a smartphone.

KB Insurance plans to develop the initiative into a sustainable inclusive finance program rather than a one-off corporate social responsibility event. Next year, it intends to expand the program's geographic reach and broaden its target audience beyond the elderly to include children and people with disabilities. The company also plans to develop additional financial safety programs beyond fraud prevention education to strengthen the effectiveness of its on-site support.

"Inclusive finance, I believe, begins not with offering more financial services but with reaching out first to those who need them," a KB Insurance official said. "We will continue to visit communities across the country, serve as a financial safety net for vulnerable groups, and work to create an environment where everyone can use financial services with confidence."


won@heraldcorp.com