The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment has called on newly retired members to volunteer their experience to the City of London Police in its fight against fraud.
In a pilot initially launched in London the professional body has asked members to support police efforts against fraud and cybercrime, with plans to expand the programme across the UK.
The CISI said newly retired members, or those approaching retirement, were being given the opportunity to "use their minds and time to help the public, by volunteering with the police to combat fraudsters".
Warnings of widespread fraud have become particularly prevalent in recent months, with Action Fraud warning coronavirus-related fraud reports had increased by 400 per cent and the number of pension scams had soared since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Figures suggested one in five victims of a financial scam during the coronavirus pandemic were targeted by "low-life" pension scammers preying on the vulnerable, while this week the Investment Association warned of a widespread impersonation scam in relation to investment bonds.
Ian Dyson, commissioner of the City of London Police, said the "challenge of the modern world" was its volume of data, but he warned the police had limited capacity to manage it.
Mr Dyson said: "People who are operating in a profession can bring to me those specialist skills that help me and my officers understand how the criminal is committing their fraud.
"CISI members all have skills that we need. You may think that you have nothing to give the police, but the structures that you manage on a day-to-day basis are exactly the structures the fraudsters use and that we need to understand."
The police commissioner said if CISI members wanted to "do something away from their day job on a voluntary basis" he would find them a role.
At the beginning of the year the City of London's cybercrime team warned it was witnessing a "sharp rise" in cryptocurrency fraud, with victims losing £339m to investment scams last year.
The increase in crypto fraud victims was attributed to the public being less familiar with these types of investments and more vulnerable to fraudsters.
James Phipson, special commander at the City of London Police, said: "CISI members encompass exactly the professional pool that we want to reach out to.
"Every one of its members has skills that we are desperate to use. If CISI members want to get involved, we would be delighted to consider them."
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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