Access Bank Lost N5.46 Billion To Fraud And Forgery, Records 355% Increase In Theft

Access Bank, one of the leading Nigerian Banks, has reached a new height in Fraud and Forgery as the bank lost N5.46 billion To Fraud And Forgery recording a whopping 355% increase in theft.

BrandNewsDsay understands that fraud and forgery, as well as court cases, are rising in Nigerian deposit money banks, also Access Bank Fraud and Forgery has witnessed its highest trickery to scammers.

Regarding fraud and forgery, Access Bank lost N5.46 billion to fraudsters and forgery in the first six months of 2023. This represented a 355 per cent increase from N1.2 billion lost by the bank to fraudsters and forgery in the corresponding period of 2022.

Access Bank Fraud and Forgery

In 2020, eight Nigerian banks lost N1.9 billion to fraudsters, Punch reported.

The cases ranged from impersonation, outright theft, and Automated Teller Machine fraud to Internet bank fraud and cheque theft.

Polaris and Zenith Banks lost N938.4 million and N360 million respectively to fraudsters, while Access Bank lost N138.1 million.

While Sterling Bank lost N132.23 million to fraudsters, Wema and Fidelity recorded N105.4 million and N22.2 million losses respectively. Also, Union Bank lost N1.5 million to the criminals.

A recent study by Surfshark, an Amsterdam-based cybersecurity firm, showed that Nigeria was the 32nd most breached nation in the first quarter of 2023, as reported by Techcabal.

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The report noted that Nigeria recorded 82,000 leaked accounts between January and March 2023, representing a 64 per cent jump from the result of the previous quarter.

A US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 2020 report ranked Nigeria as the 16th nation most affected by internet crimes. The report said Nigeria received 443 complaints relating to internet crimes in 2020, The Cable reported.

Hitachi Solutions, a global Microsoft integrator, said: “To successfully combat fraud, banks must beat cybercriminals at their own game, which requires making advanced technology part of their first line of defence.”

It advised banks to use artificial intelligence, biometric authentication, multi-factor authentication, and advanced analytics.

It also counselled banks to monitor transactions in real-time, create a database of known threats, and educate banking customers, while hosting regular awareness training for the staff members.

According to Mr Iloani, earlier quoted, “There is a need for banks to use the multi-level approach. The use of AI is most critical now because fraudsters are innovating. Banks across the world use machine learning, and Nigerian banks must adopt this approach too.”