Though fraud count reduced to 95,620 in 2023 when compared to 2022, the amount lost however increased to N17.67 billion last year compared to the previous one.

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System’s  (NIBSS) ‘Annual Fraud Landscape’ report, covering January to December 2023, observed that while the total number of reported fraud incidents decreased by six per cent, the actual losses incurred by victims rose by 23 per cent.

Painfully, a total of 80,658 unique customers succumbed to fraud in 2023, four per cent less than 84,130 customers recorded in the previous year.

In the 17-page document released yesterday, NIBSS said the decrease did not diminish the severity of the issue, urging the financial industry to remain vigilant, enhance security measures and collaboratively address the challenges.

According to the report, some regulations need thorough examination, modification and reinforcement to reduce the potential for fraud and enhance successful recuperation.

The agency pointed out that scammers targeted individuals aged 40 and above and exploited vulnerabilities in mobile banking to actualise their nefarious acts.

Indeed, mobile channels recorded a five per cent rise in attacks compared to 2022, becoming the most vulnerable to fraudsters. Social engineering remained the most persistent and dominant technique employed by these unpatriotic actors.

Unlike previous years, where fraudsters primarily focused on direct withdrawals, they are now exploring alternative channels to spend their stolen funds.

Further analysis showed that the count of web fraud decreased by 38 per cent and ATM fraud recorded a 64 per cent reduction from 2022 to 2023.

Fraud loss via Internet banking increased by 325 per cent between 2022 and 2023, largely due to N2.4 billion in internal fraud on corporate accounts reported by a Deposit Money Bank (DMB).

The report noted that in 2023, a significant amount of fraud proceeds were utilised via withdrawal with 69,067 in fraud count. Also, the fraud loss value increased by 41 per cent from N9.6 billion in 2022 compared to N13.6 billion in 2023.

NIBSS said fraud via withdrawal saw an increase in value at 41 per cent followed by money agencies/exchange with a 100 per cent increase in value.

Fraud count in transfers and cardless withdrawals witnessed an increase of 22 per cent and 199 per cent.

The investigation revealed that financial institutions reported the highest fraud count and value of 27,555 cases in the first quarter and N5.5 billion in the fourth quarter of the period under review.

Between the quarters, reported fraud cases consistently decreased, while the fraud value fluctuated between N3.4 billion and N5.5 billion each quarter.

Among foreign countries where customers of financial institutions in Nigeria were defrauded, the United States recorded the highest threat in January, with 87 and a total count of 486 and a loss of N79.90 million, followed by the United Kingdom and Ireland.

These cases were majorly perpetrated through social engineering.

The fraud count and fraud loss recorded from the United States decreased by 88 per cent and 17 per cent when compared with 2022.

In terms of fraud count and actual loss within the country, Lagos State recorded the highest value. This makes up 48 per cent of the total reported fraud count within Nigeria and 49 per cent of the total actual loss value.

Concerning fraud count, Abuja, Rivers, Ogun, and Kaduna consist of the remaining top five states.