Nigerian banks saw a big drop in financial fraud losses in the first quarter of 2024, with losses going down by 77.62% compared to the last quarter.

This information comes from the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) in their latest report on fraud in Nigerian banks.

According to the report, Nigerian banks lost N468.42 million in the first quarter, which is much less than the N2.09 billion they lost in the last quarter of 2023.

The total amount involved in fraud cases also went down by 56.73%, from N6.91 billion in Q4 2023 to N2.99 billion in Q1 2024.

There were also fewer fraud cases reported. In Q1 2024, banks reported 11,472 cases, a 7.52% drop from the 12,405 cases reported in Q4 2023. The most common types of fraud were computer/web fraud, mobile fraud, and POS-related fraud.

Mobile fraud caused the most losses, making up 46.29% (N216.83 million) of the total in Q1 2024. Computer/web fraud made up 17.00%, with losses of N79.61 million.

Fraud happened through various channels, including ATMs, online banking, bank branches, and POS terminals.

Notably, fraud via POS channels increased by 31.12%, from 2,683 cases in Q4 2023 to 3,518 cases in Q1 2024. Mobile fraud cases also slightly increased by 0.45%, from 3,173 cases in Q4 2023 to 3,393 cases in Q1 2024.

Despite the drop in fraud losses, FITC said banks need to stay alert and improve their fraud prevention methods.

They suggested that banks use advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Robotics Process Automation (RPA) to better detect and prevent fraud.

Overall, while the reduction in fraud losses is good news, banks must continue to invest in technology and stay vigilant to keep improving.