RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Just ahead of National Financial Crime Fighter Day, Virginia State Police is highlighting its new program aimed at combating financial crimes. One obstacle in the way of effectively investigating financial crimes -- such as embezzlement, online scams, insurance and payroll fraud, among others -- is how much accounting education an agent needs to handle them, according to state police. To address this, state police have created a "Financial Crimes Special Agent Development Program," to include both college and National White Collar Crimes Center courses. Its first nine agents will begin the program in the fall and, upon graduation, will be given a certificate in financial investigations and become Financial Crimes Special Agents. These courses will be asynchronous and taken online, which state police said will allow the agents to continue their everyday police work while working through this educational material. All costs will be covered by Virginia State Police. Hanover High student writes racial slur on Henrico school bus Previously, agents interested in fighting financial crime had to have already completed the necessary education prior to joining Virginia State Police, or take classes independently while also doing their typical police work. A spokesperson for Virginia State Police said these crimes affect a large amount of Virginia's population. This program will ideally make it much easier for state police to handle such cases. National Financial Crime Fighter Day is Saturday, Oct. 26.