Payment Service Provider fraud cases up by 20% in 2023 – Report

In 2023 the number of electronic money fraud incidents recorded was 14,655, representing a 20% rise as compared to 12,166 cases recorded in 2022, the Bank of Ghana’s fraud report of 2023 has indicated.

It says although there was a 20% increase in incident occurrence, the corresponding monetary loss was GH¢16 million in 2023 as compared to GH¢26 million in 2022.

Thus, in percentage terms, the year 2023 recorded a decline in loss value of 38% compared to 2022.

The report noted that the month of December 2023 saw the highest loss value for the year 2023, which may be characterised by the uptick in activities during the festive season, presenting opportunities for fraudsters to perpetuate their schemes.

Due to the increasing fraud cases recorded in the sub-sector, the central bank said it has become necessary for stakeholders to increase awareness through sensitisation programmes, strengthening security measures and adopting proactive initiatives in dealing with fraud in the sub-sector, especially during festive seasons.

By the end of the year 2023, electronic customer accounts had reached 65.6 million with 22.8 million being active users.

In terms of the volume of transactions, the year 2023 recorded 6.8 billion with a corresponding transaction value of GH¢1.9 trillion.

The year 2022, however, recorded a value of GH¢1.0 trillion in e-money transactions with the volume of transactions standing at 5.0 billion.

This indicates a 90% increase in the value of e-money transactions and an increase of 36% in volume of e-money transactions from 2022 to 2023.

The ban said the number of electronic fraud incidents reported is primarily social engineering methods deployed by the fraudsters.

“It is apparent that broadly the fraud trend is keeping pace with the evolving financial landscape. New fraud types are emerging and unfortunately, some staff of banks/SDIs who are supposed to safeguard the financial systems are being compromised,” the report noted.

It added: “Banks and SDIs are, therefore, mandated to bolster their internal control measures to reduce fraud in the banking sector to the barest minimum possible and continue to promote trust and confidence in the banking system to ensure the stability of the sector.”