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Fraudsters have swiped ₦329 million by hijacking the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system with nothing more than lifeless snapshots, a slick con that’s got Nigeria trying to understand the scope of the scheme.
The scoop comes straight from a hot-off-the-press report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), which is peeling back the curtain on the latest scams slithering through the country’s financial underbelly.
Digging into the details, it turns out shady BVN agents were the masterminds, pulling a fast one by feeding still photos—of Nigerians and foreigners alike—into the system, passing them off as real, breathing registrants.
Armed with these bogus BVNs, the fraudsters flung open counterfeit accounts at microfinance joints, mobile cash outfits, and payment service hubs, building a shadowy network in record time.
The payoff? A cool N329 million flowed through this racket just days after the fake IDs were minted and the sham accounts went live—a lightning-fast heist that’s left jaws dropping.
Investigations showed that some of the BVNs created using static images were assigned Nigerian names, which made it difficult to detect their fraudulent nature during the enrolment process.
The discovery led to the deletion of several fraudulently created BVNs, and the agents involved have been reported to law enforcement agencies for arrest and prosecution.
The report read, “Still images of Asians and Nigerians are taken and enrolled for BVN by recalcitrant agents. Accounts are opened with these BVNs in MFBs, MMOs, and PSBs.
“An estimated N329m being proceeds of fraud was received into some of the accounts opened with the BVN generated with these still images a few days before the fraud.
“More BVNs created with still images of Asians are given Nigerian names these were discovered during reviews and subsequently deleted. Agents were reported to LEAs for arrest and prosecution.”
Read also: Diaspora Nigerians Mandated To Get BVN – CBN Chief Cardoso
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) dropped a jaw-dropping stat: fraudsters raked in N52.26 billion from Nigeria’s financial sector in 2024—a staggering 350 percent leap from the N11.61 billion they nabbed back in 2020, a number that’s got everyone talking.
Yet, here’s the twist—the sheer volume of fraud busts actually shrank, dipping 31 percent from 101,624 incidents in 2020 to 70,111 in 2024, proving the crooks are playing a sharper, leaner game these days.
NIBSS pinned this cash explosion on a cocktail of slicker scam tactics, shaky system defenses, and a spike in big-ticket heists that hit harder than ever, a perfect storm fueling the losses.
The report also flagged a wild N86.36 billion in attempted grabs throughout 2024, with the actual damage soaring 195 percent over 2023’s haul—proof that fraud’s not just thriving, it’s evolving fast.
