Financial fraud within Nigeria's banking sector has seen an alarming increase, with losses escalating from N11 billion to N52 billion in just four years, according to recent data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

In a comprehensive analysis published Wednesday, NIBSS revealed that fraud-related losses reached N52.3 billion in 2024, representing a nearly fivefold increase from the N11.6 billion recorded in 2020. The report further disclosed that cybercriminals attempted to steal a staggering N86.4 billion in 2024 alone.

"The amount lost to fraud has increased over the past five years alongside the growth of financial transactions in the digital payments sector," NIBSS stated in its report.

The analysis highlighted sophisticated fraud techniques employed by perpetrators, including diverting stolen funds to gift cards and creating fraudulent accounts using stolen identities of vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, minors, and foreigners. "Over 400 million naira were received in accounts opened with the stolen identities of senior citizens," the report detailed.

NIBSS confirmed that recovery efforts are underway for some of the stolen funds, and investigations are currently proceeding against implicated banking staff.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​