66% of fraud in 2023 was committed using social engineering

In 2023, 66% of fraud cases were committed using social engineering, the most common technique. Mobile channels accounted for 50% of fraud, followed by web channels (23%) and POS channels (18%).

Technique: How the fraud is committed.
Channel: Where the fraud is committed.

Techniques refer to the methods fraudsters use to deceive victims, and Channels refer to the platforms through which the fraud is carried it.

Source:

Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System

Period:

2023
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Click to copy HTML embed code
Tags
Related Insights
Conoil's profit after tax soared 585% from 2020 to the 2023 peak; profit before tax jumped 471%
  • Profit Before Tax (PBT) surged 471% from ₦2.15 billion (2020) to ₦12.28 billion (2023); Profit After Tax (PAT) jumped 585% to ₦9.87 billion.
  • Both metrics declined ~11% from the 2023 peak but remained well above historical averages.
  • Effective tax rate fell from 38% (2012) to 20% (2024), allowing the company to retain 80% of pre-tax profits.
  • Absolute tax payments increased from an average of ₦1.01 billion (2011-2020) to ₦2.30 billion (2021-2024), reflecting higher profitability.
Nigeria exited the FATF grey list in October 2025, after being placed on it in February 2023, approximately 32 months later
  • Nigeria exited the FATF grey list in October 2025, after 32 months of monitoring.
  • The country was added to the grey list in February 2023 due to technical compliance shortcomings.
  • FATF conducted an assessment of Nigeria’s AML/CFT measures in 2008, marking the beginning of its oversight of the measures.
  • Between 2010 and 2013, Nigeria appeared repeatedly in FATF statements for strategic AML/CFT deficiencies.
Stablecoins are the most frequently transacted asset for outbound payments among Nigerian users (38.3%), outpacing bitcoin (27.3%)
  • Stablecoins lead the market, accounting for 38.3% of all crypto sent, highlighting Nigerians’ preference for stability and dollar-backed assets.
  • Bitcoin ranks second at 27.3%, showing it remains a major channel for store-of-value transfers and remittances.
  • Altcoins like SOL, ADA, SHIB, and DOGE (15.4%) attract younger and experimental users but remain secondary to stable assets.
  • Ethereum (10.2%) and BNB (8.9%) maintain moderate transaction volumes, suggesting users favor low-fee and widely accepted tokens for transfers.
Over 40% of surveyed Nigerian crypto users are students
  • Students are the largest crypto-holding group (43.6%), underscoring the youthful nature of Nigeria’s crypto community and their early adoption of digital finance.
  • Entrepreneurs follow closely (25.7%), showing strong participation from self-employed Nigerians, traders, business owners, and hustlers who use crypto for investment and business flexibility.
  • Traditional employees make up 17.4%, indicating growing acceptance of crypto beyond informal or youth circles, even among salary earners.
  • Freelancers and gig workers (5.6%) also feature, reflecting crypto’s role in global online work and cross-border earnings. Unemployed and retired individuals remain a small minority, under 3.5% combined.
Over 60% of surveyed Nigerian crypto traders earn less than $50 per month, with $10–$50 the most common profit range (36%)
  • About 60% of users make less than $50 per month, showing crypto activity is mostly at a small, retail scale.
  • The $10–$50 band (36%) is the single largest group, reflecting frequent, low-value trading or incremental investment returns.
  • Only about 30% of users earn between $50 and $500, suggesting that consistent moderate returns are less common.
  • Less than 3% of users earn above $1,000 per month, confirming that the Nigerian crypto market remains largely retail-driven rather than dominated by professional or institutional traders.
About 44% of Nigerian crypto users mostly send crypto, primarily for investments and payments
  • 56.1% of users mostly send crypto, compared to 43.9% who mostly receive it, showing an active transaction culture.
  • Investing in other platforms or projects leads as the top reason for sending crypto (29.2%), indicating strong speculative and wealth-building motives.
  • Every 1 in 4 users (25.1%) use crypto for daily transactions like bills and subscriptions, showing rising integration into everyday finance.
  • Cross-border payments (7.7%) and donations (4.6%) remain small but notable niches, signaling growing utility beyond trading.
POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form
A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved