WEMA Bank Plc lost N263.409 million to fraudsters and burglars in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 after making heavy investments in the information technology (IT) space.

The bank invested N389.902 million in technology in the period under review, according to its Q1 2025 financial statement released to the Nigerian Exchange Group. The tier-2 bank had, in the corresponding period of 2024, expended N5.094 billion in IT and alternative channels.

In the full year 2024, the financial institution lost 255.923 million to frausters in 987 cases despite spending N5.554 billion just within the year, representing 291 percent increase in IT expenditure over the one-year period.

Similarly, the bank had lost N550 million to fraudsters and thieves in the first half (H1) of 2024 and H1 of 2023 despite spending N1.84 billion on technology and alternative channels over the period.

READ ALSO: Wema Bank spends N1.84bn on technology but loses N550m to fraudsters

According to the Wema Bank’s H1 2024 financial statement seen by Economy Post, the lender lost N293.639 million to fraud and burglary in the H1 of 2024 as against N256.387 million loss incurred in the corresponding period of 2023. Hence the total amount lost to fraudsters in the first six months this year and the first six months last year was N550 million.

The fraud losses were not just electronic, as some also occurred through burglary, according to the bank. Burglary is the the crime of illegally entering a building and stealing things, says the Cambridge Dictionary.

Fraud rising in Nigeria

Nigeria’s financial institutions such as banks lost N17.6 billion ($11.2 million) to fraud in 2023, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System’s (NIBSS)’s Annual Fraud Landscape report.

The report disclosed that fraud had increased in Africa’s most populous nation every year in the past five years.

The total fraud losses rose from N2.96 billion in 2019 to N11.61 billion in 2022. Between 2019 and 2023, the total amount lost to fraud increased by 496 percent to ₦17.6 billion, Techpoint Africa reported.

In 2024, Nigerian banks lost N52. 26 billion to fraudsters in 2024, according to the NIBSS.

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

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

READ ALSO: Wema Bank fined N61.4m after breaching 7 Nigerian laws

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

Strengthen your IT systems, experts advise

Financial and IT experts have advised banks to improve their systems to beat fraudsters.

“To successfully combat fraud, banks must beat cybercriminals at their own game, which requires making advanced technology part of their first line of defense,” said Hitach Solutions, a global Microsoft integrator, while advising banks to use artificial intelligence (AI), biometric authentication, multi-factor authentication, and advanced analystics.

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

A Lagos-based IT expert, Mr Tobe Iloani, stressed the need to develop several layers of IT security. “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 can adopt this approach,” he said.

A former bank worker in Abuja, Ms Patience Gyan, said there was a need to change the staff in the IT departments regularly.

“Non-IT related frauds also happen. People steal others’ pin numbers or even smartly take their money while in the banking hall. So, this calls for vigilance among Nigerians. Do not believe every story you hear in the streets. Fraudsters are preying on people’s compassion and we should not give them that opportunity,” she added.