Fraudsters Attack Nigerian Banks, Steal Money, Access Bank, Others React

• Financial losses due to fraud have increased by 50% in Nigeria, while incidences of digital fraud have increased by 100%
• The survey claims that fraud instances have increased on all platforms and that the risks are further increased by the growth of digital transactions
• The increasing sophistication of identity theft, insider cooperation, and cyber fraud took a serious toll on Nigerian financial institutions

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5 years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The most recent Fraud Risk Report from the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) has shown that between the first and third quarters of this year, Nigeria had a 50% increase in financial losses connected to fraud and a 100% increase in digital fraud incidences.

The survey claims that fraud instances have increased on all platforms and that the risks are further increased by the growth of digital transactions.

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The increasing sophistication of identity theft, insider cooperation, and cyber fraud took a serious toll on Nigerian financial institutions.

The data was released during the FITC Risk Roundtable with: “Financial System Stability, Leveraging AI for Financial Fraud Detection and Regulations” as theme.

Favour Femi-Oyewole, Group Chief Information Security Officer at Access Bank, emphasized the necessity of embedded security in the financial industry because of the exposure of consumers to a variety of APIs and digital footprints.

The Nation reported that in order to handle the escalating financial difficulties and prevent any hazards, she advocated for the widespread application of machine learning.

Chizor Malize, the managing director and CEO of FITC, highlighted the importance of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) in thwarting the growth of digital dangers and cyber threats, which have been made worse by technological breakthroughs.

In order to overcome these obstacles, she emphasized FITC's proactive strategy of offering industry insights and encouraging cooperation among stakeholders.

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Bello Hassan, managing director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), recognized the increasing threat of financial crime in a number of ways, including identity theft, money laundering, insider fraud, account takeovers, payment fraud, and fraudulent transactions.

Represented by Director Enterprise Risk Management at NDIC, Amal Haruna, the NDIC boss said,

“Financial fraud is a significant global challenge that has led to financial losses, reputational damage, legal consequences, and financial system instability.”

Pattison Boleigha, managing director and CEO of Pattison Consulting Limited, promoted the broader use of AI technologies and software to combat financial crime.

He called for greater consumer knowledge and cooperation between customers, operators, and regulators to effectively combat fraud, and he asked regulators to receive training on new technologies.

Fraudsters attack 28 banks

Legit.ng reported that a recent survey has shown that within the course of three months, from April to June of this year, Nigerian commercial banks lost a total of N42.6 billion to fraud and forgeries.

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The total amount of money lost to bank fraud in 2023 was surpassed by the amount lost in just the second quarter of 2024. The banks lost N9.4 billion in total in 2023.

In its Q2 2024 Fraud and Forgeries report, which was made public on Saturday, the Financial Institutions Training Center disclosed this and noted an increase in fraudulent activity on banking networks.

Source: Legit.ng