Financial scams targeted at Nigerian banks have progressed to a more technologically advanced format with fraudsters taking advantage of loopholes in the web, Point Of Sales (POS) and other digital channels.
According to the report on Fraud and Forgeries Report in Nigerian Banks for Q1 2024 published by the Financial Institutions Training Centre, (FITC), the Nigerian banking sector lost ₦468.42 million from fraud related scams in the first quarter of 2024.
The report also noted that the fraudulent acts are perpetuated through different channels which include Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), online platforms like the web and mobile banking, direct operations at bank branches, and point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
Top 5 fraud channels as banks lose ₦468.42 million in Q1 2024
The report revealed that the losses were mostly recorded via five banking channels which include:
| S/N | Channels | Reported Cases | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Web | 5932 | ₦24.1 million |
| 2 | Mobile | 3173 | ₦216.4 million |
| 3 | PoS | 2683 | ₦4.6 million |
| 4 | Bank Branch | 399 | ₦133.9 million |
| 5 | ATM | 216 | ₦100 thousand |
The FITC report noted that the amount lost to fraud during the period showed a decrease across all major channels.
According to the report, the computer/web based channels witnessed a loss of ₦24.1 million during the period representing a 16% decrease when compared with ₦28.7 Million recorded in Q4, 2023.
Fraud carried out through Mobile channels recorded a decline of 99% from ₦21.6 billion to ₦216.4 million and the amount lost to POS channels dropped from ₦14.6 million in Q4, 2023, to ₦4.6 million in Q1, 2024 indicating a 68% decline.
Losses from fraud in bank branches also dropped from ₦356 million in Q4, 2023 to ₦133 million indicating a 62.4% decline.
The FITC further advised on the need for banks to be more vigilant by improving their fraud control activities to ensure that the numbers keep dropping.