News Guide Africa

Tag: 2025 Fraud Report

  • Digital Vulnerability: BoG exposes surge in financial fraud as criminals migrate to mobile and digital channels

    Digital Vulnerability: BoG exposes surge in financial fraud as criminals migrate to mobile and digital channels

    By Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has released its comprehensive 2025 Fraud Report, revealing a massive migration of criminal activity toward the digital ecosystem.

    While traditional banking channels saw considerable success in throttling down fraud incidents, total financial sector fraud cases jumped significantly, heavily propelled by a massive spike within the Payment Service Providers (PSPs) sub-sector.

    The report, issued by the Financial Stability Department, tracks metrics across three regulated spaces: Banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs), and PSPs. On a year-on-year basis, the total count of reported industry fraud cases swelled by 48%, increasing from 16,733 in 2024 to 24,778 in 2025. Over the same period, the aggregate value at risk expanded from GH¢99 million to GH¢101 million.

    According to the central bank, the clear-cut pivot toward digital platform vulnerabilities correlates directly with the rapid explosion of electronic transaction volumes and comparatively low levels of digital literacy among daily users.

    The Core Shift: Banks Versus Mobile Channels

    The performance profiles of the sub-sectors reveal two completely opposing trajectories:

    ● The Banking Sector: Recorded a highly successful 34% drop in the overall count of fraud cases, dropping from 716 in 2024 down to 472 in 2025. Consequently, the value at risk to commercial banks fell by 24% to GH¢57 million. However, cash suppression (internal cash theft) remained a major financial issue, accounting for a staggering GH¢40.7 million of banks’ exposure. This total was heavily distorted by a single massive outlier incident involving GH¢36 million.

    ● Payment Service Providers (PSPs): Electronic fraud cases exploded by 54% in the PSP space, surging from 15,673 in 2024 to an alarming 24,124 in 2025. More concerningly, the value at risk within the electronic payment sector nearly doubled, skyrocketing 95% from GH¢19 million to GH¢37 million.

     

    Sub-Sector Performance Summary (2024 vs. 2025) 2024 Fraud Count 2025 Fraud Count 2024 Value at Risk 2025 Value at Risk

    Banking Sector 716 472 GH¢75m GH¢57m

    SDI Sector 344 182 GH¢4.5m GH¢8.0m

    PSP (Digital) Sector 15,673 24,124 GH¢19m GH¢37m

    Inside Threats: Staff Involvement and Dismissals

    A major highlight of the report is the central bank’s focus on internal fraud. Encouragingly, the absolute number of bank and SDI staff members implicated in crooked activities dropped by 40%—falling from 365 in 2024 down to 219 in 2025.

    Of those internal bad actors, 63% (139 individuals) were involved directly in cash theft and cash suppression schemes. While only 22% of these cash suppression cases took place within commercial banks, the banks shouldered a brutal 96% of the total value at risk from these internal thefts.

    This insider threat met severe consequences, though the report reveals a gap in criminal termination. Banks and SDIs fired 75 staff members for fraudulent conduct in 2025 (a 52% reduction from the 155 dismissals in 2024). Strikingly, this means out of the 219 employees caught in fraudulent activities, only 34% were officially dismissed, with 59% of those terminations tied directly to cash theft.

    SDIs: Rural and Community Banks Most Vulnerable

    Within the Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDI) sector, overall fraud counts dropped by 47% to 182 cases. However, the total value at risk shot up by 77%, hitting GH¢8.0 million.

    This financial exposure was driven heavily by forgery and manipulation of documents, which leapt to GH¢4.2 million (with GH¢4.1 million originating from just one single institution). Cash suppression also plagued this bracket, with Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) accounting for 51% of total cash theft cases and a punishing 90% of the entire SDI sector’s cash suppression losses.

    A Call for Tightened Controls

    Out of a total reported fraud value at risk of GH¢68.2 million within the combined Bank and SDI sectors, institutions managed to recover approximately GH¢3.7 million (a small 5%), leaving an unrecovered total loss amount of GH¢64.5 million.

    The Bank of Ghana concluded the report with a stern warning to financial institutions, stating that as deeper digitalization creates complex layers of financial interaction, banks and payment providers must step up vigilance, build tighter technological defenses, and aggressively improve public digital literacy to restore complete consumer confidence.

     

  • 2025 Banks Fraud Report: Highlights

    2025 Banks Fraud Report: Highlights

    The Bank of Ghana’s Financial Stability Department released its 2025 Fraud Report, tracking fraud metrics across three regulated sub-sectors: Banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs), and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).

    The report reveals a macro-migration of fraudulent activity away from traditional banking institutions directly into the digital channels managed by PSPs. This shift strongly correlates with a massive boom in digital transaction volumes paired with lower levels of user digital literacy.

    Macro Industry Performance (2024 vs. 2025)

    ● Total Fraud Cases: Jumped by 48%, rising from 16,733 cases in 2024 to 24,778 cases in 2025.

    ● Total Value at Risk: Rose slightly by 2%, increasing from GH¢99 million to GH¢101 million year-on-year.

    ● Long-Term Trend (2022–2025): Over a four-year window, baseline fraud incidents rose steadily from 15,164 to 24,778, while global value at risk crept from GH¢82 million to GH¢101 million.

    Sub-Sector Breakdown

    1. Payment Service Providers (PSPs) — The Primary Driver

    ● Case Count: Experienced a severe 54% spike, skyrocketing from 15,673 incidents in 2024 to 24,124 in 2025. Over a four-year period, total cases increased by 98%.

    ● Financial Impact: The value at risk nearly doubled, registering a 95% year-on-year surge from GH¢19 million to GH¢37 million. Over four years, its total value at risk climbed 42%.

    2. Traditional Commercial Banks

    ● Case Count: Dropped 34%, falling from 716 cases in 2024 down to 472 in 2025.

    ● Financial Impact: Value at risk decreased by 24%, dropping from GH¢75 million to GH¢57 million.

    ● Top Typologies: ATM/POS fraud recorded the highest numerical count. However, Cash Suppression represented the highest value at risk at GH¢40.7 million (driven heavily by a single outlier incident of GH¢36 million). E-Money fraud (GH¢4.6 million) and Fraudulent Withdrawals (GH¢3.97 million) followed as key threats.

    3. Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs)

    ● Case Count: Slashed by 47%, decreasing from 344 incidents down to 182.

    ● Financial Impact: Value at risk rose significantly by 77%, jumping from GH¢4.5 million to GH¢8.0 million.

    ● Top Typologies: Forgery and Manipulation of Documents caused the highest financial vulnerability at GH¢4.2 million (with GH¢4.1 million originating from just one institution). Cash Suppression remained the most frequent occurrence, with Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) suffering 90% of the sector’s total cash suppression losses.

    Staff Involvement and Discipline

    ● Internal Collusion: The total number of banking and SDI employees implicated in fraud dropped by 40%, moving from 365 staff members down to 219.

    ● Theft Patterns: Inside positions were primarily connected to internal cash theft; 63% (139 individuals) of all fraudulent staff were tied directly to cash suppression schemes.

    ● Disciplinary Actions: Dismissals within Banks and SDIs decreased by 52%, dropping from 155 in 2024 to 75 in 2025. Out of the 219 compromised employees, only 34% (75 individuals) were officially terminated, with 59% of those firings tied directly to cash theft.

     

    Recoveries and Financial Losses

    For the combined Banks and SDIs sectors in 2025:

    ● Out of a total reported fraud value at risk of GH¢68.2 million, institutions managed to recover approximately GH¢3.7 million (roughly a 5% recovery rate).

    ● This left the banking and SDI sectors with an unrecovered, absolute loss total of GH¢64.5 million.

    Bank of Ghana Directive: Moving forward, the central bank maintains that combating evolving digital fraud patterns requires continuous oversight, tighter internal institutional controls, and unified security collaborations between financial players, law enforcement agencies, and the public.