Nigerian banks terminated 49 staff members for involvement in fraudulent activities between April and June 2024, marking a 40% increase from 35 dismissals in the previous quarter.
According to the Financial Institutions Training Centre’s (FITC) Q2 2024 report, insider involvement in fraud rose by 23%, with 58 bank employees implicated in over 11,500 fraud cases during the period. Fraud cases involving external actors also increased by 5.20%.
The financial losses due to fraud skyrocketed by over 900% in Q2 2024, reaching N42.6 billion, a stark contrast to the N468.4 million lost in Q1.
This represents a 637% increase compared to losses in Q2 2023. The majority of the losses (96.46%) came from miscellaneous fraud types, while fraudulent withdrawals and web-based fraud followed with lower amounts.
In response, the FITC has recommended stronger anti-fraud measures for banks, such as implementing multi-factor authentication, limiting access to sensitive files, and conducting continuous fraud prevention training for employees.
These steps aim to combat rising fraud risks, particularly insider threats, which continue to challenge the banking sector.