N134.48bn lost to fraud in six years as CBN report exposes bank vulnerabilities
By Aboki Forex —
Banks and their customers in Nigeria lost N134.48bn to fraud between 2020 and 2025, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria's Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 report. Total attempted fraud during the same period stood at N187.79bn.
Losses rose steadily year on year. In 2020, banks lost N11.61bn. That climbed to N12.77bn in 2021, N14.32bn in 2022, and N17.67bn in 2023. Then came a massive jump in 2024 when losses hit N52.26bn. That single year accounted for about 39% of all losses over the six year period.
The CBN attributed the 2024 spike largely to one major internal fraud case worth N30bn. Without that incident, the overall loss figure would have been significantly lower. Attempted fraud also peaked in 2024 at N86.36bn before dropping to N37.57bn in 2025. Actual losses fell to N25.85bn in 2025.
Fraud affected multiple channels including ATMs, internet banking, mobile banking, POS terminals, e-commerce platforms, cheques, and over the counter transactions. The report noted that fraud amounts on internet banking, mobile, and POS channels declined in 2025. But overall losses still rose by 196% in 2024 due to the internal case. Web fraud incidents also increased by 169%.
The figures highlight growing exposure as digital payments expand across the country. Banks are under pressure to tighten internal controls and invest in fraud detection systems.