Nigerian banks saw a remarkable reduction in financial fraud losses in the first quarter of this year, with a 77.62% plunge in losses compared to the previous quarter, marking a significant improvement in their efforts to combat fraud.
According to the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) report on fraud and forgeries in Nigerian banks for Q1 2024, the losses, compared to the previous quarter, decreased by 77.62%, from N2.09 billion to N468.42 million.
Additionally, the total amount involved in fraud cases declined by 56.73%, from N6.91 billion in Q4 2023 to N2.99 billion in Q1 2024, indicating a substantial improvement in fraud prevention and risk management in the banking sector.
The FITC report also indicated that there was a decline in the number of fraud cases reported by the banks compared to the previous quarter.
“For Q1 2024, a total of eleven thousand, four hundred and seventy-two (11,472) cases were reported, and when compared to the twelve thousand, four hundred and five (12,405) cases recorded in the Q4 2023, a 7.52 per cent decrease is noted,” the organization stated.
The report cited computer/ web fraud, mobile fraud, and POS-related fraud as the top three prevalent forms of fraudulent activity, consistent with the trend observed in the previous quarter.
According to the FITC report, mobile fraud accounted for 46.29% of the total losses recorded by the banks in Q1 2024 with a value of N216.83 million, while computer/web fraud entries accounted for 17.00%, totalling N79.61 million.
“During Q1 2024, fraudulent activities were conducted through various channels, which included ATMs, online platforms such as web and mobile banking, bank branches, and point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
“In the first quarter of 2024, cards were the only instrument for fraud that recorded an increase, while the use of cheques and cash recorded relatively lower fraudulent activities when compared to the previous quarter.
“Specifically, there was a 31.12% rise in fraud cases through the POS Channel, rising from 2,683 cases in Q4 2023 to 3,518 cases in QI 2024. Similarly, the number of fraud cases through the Mobile Channel increased by 0.45%, rising from 3173 cases in Q4 2023 to 3393 cases in Ql 2024,” FITC stated in the report.
