Fraudsters rake in ₦134bn from banks customers CBN data has revealed, exposing the scale of financial losses suffered across Nigeria’s banking and payments sector over a six-year period.

According to information contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 document, banks and their customers recorded combined fraud-related losses of ₦134.48 billion between 2020 and 2025. During the same period, attempted fraud cases amounted to ₦187.79 billion.

The losses were recorded across multiple payment channels, including internet banking, mobile banking, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals, e-commerce platforms, cheque transactions, web channels, and over-the-counter banking services. The figures reflect the increasing security risks associated with Nigeria’s rapidly growing digital payments landscape.

Data from the report showed that annual fraud losses increased steadily over the review period. Losses rose from ₦11.61 billion in 2020 to ₦12.77 billion in 2021, before reaching ₦14.32 billion in 2022. The figure increased further to ₦17.67 billion in 2023 and surged sharply to ₦52.26 billion in 2024, the highest annual loss recorded during the six-year period.

The 2024 figure accounted for nearly 39 per cent of the total losses recorded between 2020 and 2025. The CBN attributed the significant increase largely to a major internal fraud incident involving approximately ₦30 billion. The report noted that while fraud losses declined across some payment channels, the large-scale case significantly increased overall industry losses.

Attempted fraud also followed an upward trend, rising from ₦13.26 billion in 2020 to ₦86.36 billion in 2024 before declining in 2025. Actual fraud losses similarly fell in 2025 to ₦25.85 billion, indicating some improvement in fraud management and detection measures across the financial sector.

The report highlighted evolving fraud patterns across payment platforms. Previous years saw increases in point-of-sale fraud, ATM-related fraud, corporate account compromises, and web-based attacks, demonstrating the changing tactics employed by cybercriminals targeting financial institutions and customers.

Financial industry stakeholders have continued to strengthen fraud prevention systems as digital transactions become increasingly common across Nigeria. The CBN has also introduced measures aimed at reducing fraud response times and improving coordination among banks and payment service providers.

Analysts say the figures underscore the need for stronger cybersecurity frameworks, enhanced customer awareness, improved identity management systems, and greater collaboration among financial institutions to combat increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes.

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