Electronic Fraud Volume Spikes by 683%

The total volume of electronic fraud, e-fraud, recorded in 2015 leaped significantly, by 683%, compared to 2014, an annual report by the Nigerian e-Fraud Forum, NeFF, has shown.

However, the report said the e-fraud rate in terms of value reduced within the period by 63% in 2015, due to the introduction of the BVN and improved collaboration among banks via the fraud desks.

The report,which was unveiled on Tuesday, July 26, by the Central Bank of Nigeria, said despite the country’s economic headwinds, the use of e-channel platforms -Internet banking, Mobile banking, ATM, POS, Web, etc, has continued to experience significant growth.
“Fraud value may have reduced in 2015, but the significant increase in volume of attacks depicts the enormous threat of e-fraud.

“Furthermore, information released by security firm, Kaspersky, shows that in 2015, there were over a million attempted malware infections that aimed to steal money via online access to bank accounts,” Osita Nwanu, Head, Systems Control & Business Continuity Management, First City Monument Bank Limited and member of the Committee said.

According to the fraud report, transaction volume and value increased significantly by 43.36% and 11.57% respectively compared to 2014.