Fraudsters have managed to steal N329m by exploiting static images for Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration, as revealed in a recent report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). The report outlines the increasing trend of fraud within Nigeria’s financial sector.
According to the findings, rogue BVN enrollment agents were responsible for using still images of both Nigerians and foreign nationals to fraudulently register for BVNs, which were then used to open accounts across microfinance banks, mobile money operators, and payment service banks. These fraudulent accounts were used to siphon N329m within days of BVN generation.
The scheme was facilitated by enrolling static images as live enrollees, which made the fraudulent nature of the accounts difficult to detect during the registration process. The names assigned to these BVNs often appeared Nigerian, further complicating the identification of the fraud.
In response, NIBSS deleted several of these fraudulent BVNs, and the agents involved were reported to law enforcement agencies for prosecution.
The NIBSS report also highlighted the rising scale of fraud within the financial sector, with total losses from fraud incidents in 2024 surging to N52.26bn, a 350% increase from N11.61bn in 2020. Despite a drop in the total number of fraud cases, from 101,624 in 2020 to 70,111 in 2024, the value of losses and the sophistication of fraudulent schemes have grown significantly.
To counteract these fraudulent BVN activities, the Central Bank of Nigeria has mandated that financial institutions report any suspicious BVN activity to NIBSS within 24 hours of detection.
