Fraudsters steal N134.48bn from Nigerian Banking system in six years

Nigerian banks and their customers lost a combined N134.48bn to fraud between 2020 and 2025, according to data contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 report, highlighting the growing threat of financial crimes within the country’s rapidly expanding digital payment ecosystem.

An analysis of the report showed that fraudsters attempted to steal a total of N187.79bn during the six-year period, with N134.48bn successfully lost across various banking and electronic payment channels.

The losses occurred through multiple transaction platforms, including over-the-counter banking services, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), cheques, internet banking, mobile banking applications, Point of Sale (POS) terminals, e-commerce platforms and other electronic payment systems.

The report revealed a consistent upward trend in fraud-related losses over the years, culminating in a record-breaking loss in 2024.

According to the data, financial institutions and customers lost N11.61bn to fraud in 2020. The figure increased to N12.77bn in 2021 and rose further to N14.32bn in 2022. In 2023, losses climbed to N17.67bn before surging dramatically to N52.26bn in 2024.

The 2024 figure accounted for nearly 39 per cent of the total fraud losses recorded between 2020 and 2025, making it the worst year on record for fraud in Nigeria’s financial sector.

A similar trend was observed in the value of attempted fraud. Fraud attempts increased from N13.26bn in 2020 to N14.48bn in 2021, N16.41bn in 2022 and N19.72bn in 2023. The figure then skyrocketed to N86.36bn in 2024 before declining significantly to N37.57bn in 2025.

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Despite the alarming spike recorded in 2024, the report indicated a notable improvement in 2025. Actual fraud losses fell to N25.85bn, while attempted fraud cases dropped considerably, suggesting that recent anti-fraud measures may be yielding positive results.

The apex bank attributed the exceptionally high losses recorded in 2024 largely to a major internal fraud incident valued at N30bn.

According to the report, fraud levels across internet banking, mobile banking and POS channels had generally declined during the year. However, the impact of the large-scale internal fraud case significantly distorted overall industry figures.

“Fraud amounts in Internet Banking, Mobile, and POS channels declined, yet overall losses rose by 196 per cent, primarily due to a major internal case involving N30bn. Web fraud incidents also increased by 169 per cent,” the report stated.

The CBN noted that the incident underscored the vulnerability of financial institutions to insider-related fraud and demonstrated how a single large-scale breach could significantly affect industry-wide loss statistics.

The report also highlighted evolving fraud patterns across different payment channels during the review period.

In 2021, web-based fraud incidents declined by 43 per cent, but overall losses still increased due to a sharp 276 per cent rise in POS-related fraud cases.

The following year saw fraud losses increase by 12 per cent, driven mainly by significant attacks targeting corporate accounts. During the same period, ATM-related fraud surged by more than 2,000 per cent despite reductions in fraud incidents across mobile banking, POS terminals and web channels.

By 2023, fraudsters had shifted their focus toward e-commerce platforms, resulting in a sharp increase in losses.

“Fraud losses rose by 23 per cent, largely due to a spike in e-Commerce incidents, which escalated by 1,961 per cent. Mobile, POS, and Web channels recorded moderate increases,” the CBN stated.

The regulator, however, expressed optimism over the improvements recorded in 2025, attributing the decline in fraud to stricter regulatory oversight, stronger industry collaboration and enhanced monitoring systems.