The Nigerian electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) has put the value of electronic banking fraud cases reported in the country over the last three years at N5.571 billion.
This was contained in the 2017 NeFF Annual Report unveiled in Lagos yesterday by the Director of Banking and Payment System, of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dipo Fatokun, who is also the chairman of the forum.
The report shows that while the value of fraud perpetrated across counter has been on the decline over the last three years, the ones done via Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and mobile has been on the increase. From N732.85m in 2015, the value of fraud committed across the counter dropped to N511.003m and N259.022m in 2016 and 2017.
However, fraud via ATM channels has been on the rise from N355.89m in 2015, it rose to N464.514m in 2016 and increased further to N497.643m in 2017. Likewise mobile payment fraud rose to N347.645m in 2017, having dropped slightly from N248.144m in 2015 to N235.17m in 2016.
Fatokun noted that there has been an increase in electronic fraud despite the various efforts put in place to check it.
While assuring that more effort is being put in place to ensure security of customers’ funds, he said “it has become necessary to review and strengthen the existing rules and enact new regulations” to combat electronic fraud in the country.
He said the steering committee of the forum would be instituting an industry customer protection plan that was targeted at reducing the volume of fraud in the system.
Fatokun noted that the increasing level of fraud on mobile had been mainly from USSD transactions. Banks in recent time had embraced USSD banking as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion, promote cash less policy whilst making banking continent for customers.
