Fraudsters exploited vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s banking system to steal over N1 billion through Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) illegally registered minors.
This is according to a new report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) on recent fraud trends in the country.
The report highlights a growing trend of financial fraud, with compromised bank officials and agents illegally registering BVNs for minors and using them to open enterprise accounts through which fraudulent transactions were carried out.
The NIBSS report detailed two major cases where BVNs were fraudulently created for underaged individuals, leading to significant financial losses.
In one instance, a compromised bank staff registered a BVN for a minor and proceeded to open an enterprise account linked to the fraudulent identity.
The account later received N495.3 million, which was swiftly withdrawn.
In another case, a corrupt banking agent enrolled a BVN for a minor and opened a business account under the name of a bakery. This fraudulent account received N507 million, which was immediately transferred out before authorities could intervene.
The two cases alone resulted in losses exceeding N1.002 billion, with investigations showing that the funds were quickly moved through multiple accounts to avoid detection and recovery efforts.
