The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has raised concerns over the increasing incidence of fraud within the banking sector, involving Banks, Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs), and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
In 2023 alone, the sector recorded a loss of approximately GHC 88 million due to fraudulent activities. This represents a 5% increase from the GHC 82 million lost in 2022.
The total number of fraud cases also saw a 5% rise, increasing from 15,164 in 2022 to 15,865 in 2023.
According to the Central Bank’s annual fraud report, released on September 16, these cases were attributed to various forms of fraud, including fraudulent withdrawals, ATM and card fraud, impersonation, e-money fraud, cyber-email fraud, forgery, document manipulation, remittance fraud, lending/credit fraud, and SIM swap fraud.
The report further highlighted a significant increase in the involvement of bank and SDI staff in fraudulent activities. The number of implicated employees rose sharply by 46%, from 188 in 2022 to 274 in 2023.
Despite the alarming statistics, the Bank of Ghana assured the public that efforts are being made to curb these fraudulent activities.
“The BoG continues to engage institutions with high incidences of fraud to develop action plans to address such incidences in the industry,” the report noted.
It added that it has also strengthened its engagement with relevant stakeholders to enhance collaboration in the fight against cyber-related fraud.”
“The fight against fraud in the financial sector is a shared responsibility of all well-meaning stakeholders, and continued vigilance is vital as fraudsters continuously deploy new ways of defrauding victims through increased usage of sophisticated technology, the BOG stressed.
