National Bank of Ethiopia Reports 1.3 Billion Birr Fraud in One Year
Published: April 26, 2025
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) released its annual financial security report on April 25, 2025 (covering the period up to June 2024), revealing significant losses due to fraud within the country's banking sector. The report indicates that 28 banks were defrauded of over one billion Birr within that single year.
According to the NBE's findings, 28 out of Ethiopia's 31 banks fell victim to fraudsters, losing approximately 1.3 billion Birr collectively. Only three banks managed to avoid being defrauded during this period. The NBE, however, refrained from publicly naming either the affected banks or those that remained unscathed. This staggering figure translates to an average loss of roughly 46.4 million Birr per affected bank, equivalent to about $363,000 USD.
While the report did not explicitly state whether these figures include banks looted by militants in conflict zones within the country, it did identify several key methods contributing to the losses.
Fraud Methods Highlighted
The NBE report cited several primary tactics used by fraudsters:
- ATM Machine Theft: Physical theft related to automated teller machines remains a contributing factor.
- Counterfeit Checks: The use of fraudulent checks continues to cause losses for banks.
- Cyber Fraud Tactics: A significantly increasing trend involves various forms of cyber fraud, including deceptive methods like fake SMS messages and related online schemes.
- Impersonation Scams: A common and growing tactic involves fraudsters impersonating bank representatives via phone calls or messages (like SMS or Telegram) to deceive customers into revealing sensitive information or transferring funds. Tactics include fake prize notifications requiring account details.
- Counterfeit Currency: Incidents involving the printing and circulation of fake banknotes were implicitly referenced.
Public Awareness and Counterfeit Incidents
The rise in impersonation scams has prompted individuals targeted or victimized by these attempts to raise awareness on social media platforms like TikTok. They often share screenshots of fraudulent texts, malicious links, and even audio recordings of scam calls to warn others about common ploys.
Regarding counterfeit currency, the report's findings align with recent incidents where police apprehended individuals printing fake notes in cities such as Mizan Aman and Jimma. Cases involving foreign nationals attempting to use counterfeit currency have also been noted, particularly in Addis Ababa.
Report Findings and Trends
Although the report detailed the main methods used to defraud the banks of 1.3 billion Birr, it did not provide a specific breakdown of how much was lost via each particular method. Nevertheless, it strongly highlighted the proliferation and increasing sophistication of internet-based fraud.
Furthermore, the report indicated that this total fraud amount represents a significant increase of 300 million Birr compared to the figures reported two years prior, signaling a worrying escalation in financial crime targeting the banking sector.