Fraudsters bag GH¢88 million from banks, SDIs, PSPs in 2023 – BoG report

Data collated from the three sub-sectors – banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) – indicated that overall, the count of fraud cases increased to 15,865 in 2023 from 15,164 in 2022, reflecting a 5% rise, according to the Bank of Ghana’s annual Fraud Report.

The report, which seeks to create awareness of fraud occurrences and trends identified within the reporting year with the view to promoting the soundness and integrity of the banking system, noted that these cases corresponded to a total loss value of approximately GH¢88 million in 2023 as compared to GH¢82 million in 2022, indicating an increase of about 7%.

Analysis of the 2023 data showed that fraud heightened in fraudulent withdrawals from victims’ accounts, cyber/email fraud, and cash theft (cash suppression).

Another area of concern, the report indicated, is SIM swap-related fraud, where SIM numbers linked to banking accounts are fraudulently taken over and monies subsequently withdrawn from the accounts.

This form of fraud, the central bank explained, targets individuals who have banking applications on their mobile phones and have linked their bank accounts to mobile money wallets.

While attempted fraud cases in the banking and SDI sectors declined “sharply” by 59% in 2023 compared to 2022, the total loss value associated with these cases stood at approximately GH¢72 million, a 29% increase over the 2022 figure of GH¢56 million recorded.

The Bank of Ghana said the “sharp increase” in the loss value was influenced by outlier fraud cases involving foreign currencies, which when converted to cedi, ballooned the 2023 attempted fraud value at a loss.

The PSP sector also recorded a loss of GH¢16 million involving 14,655 cases in 2023. Although the loss value recorded in 2023 represented a 38% decline compared to the GH¢26 million recorded in the previous year, the incidents showed a 20% increase compared to the 12,166 cases in 2022.

Banks and SDIs recorded higher loss values whereas the PSPs recorded a decline in the loss value for the year under review.

Generally, bank and SDI sectors recorded increases in the loss values as a result of fraud, while the PSPs sector saw some decline.

The BoG said it continues to engage institutions with high incidences of fraud to develop action plans to address such incidences in the industry.

The central bank said it has also strengthened its engagement with relevant stakeholders to enhance collaboration in the fight against cyber-related fraud.

The report has also highlighted some directives by the central bank to banks, SDIs and PSPs which, if implemented, will help reduce the incidence of fraud in the sector.