Fraud Pulse 2024: Ghana's Financial Sector Faces a Surge in Forgery Risk

Ghana’s financial sector experienced a notable shift in fraud patterns in 2024, with data revealing a 5% rise in reported fraud cases from 15,865 in 2023 to 16,733 cases. The report, compiled from sector-wide disclosures, shows troubling new dynamics: Forgery has emerged as the single largest financial risk, accounting for GHS 53.5 million, up from just GHS 7.5 million in 2023 — a staggering 613% increase.

While cash theft declined dramatically by 77%, dropping from GHS 16.7M to GHS 3.8M, this reduction was offset by a surge in ATM fraud (GHS 4.1M) and the worrying climb in forged documentation used to defraud banks.

Banks, SDIs and PSPs 2024 Fraud Report - Bank of Ghana

Staff Involvement in Focus

Out of 365 staff members implicated in fraud — up 33% from 2023 — only 155 were dismissed. This means less than half (43%) of the implicated staff faced termination, raising serious questions about internal disciplinary processes in Ghanaian banks.

Top 5 Fraud Risks in 2024

By value at risk, the top fraud types in banks were:

Rank	Fraud Type	Value (GHS Million)
1	Forgery	53.54
2	Identity Theft	5.77
3	ATM/POS/Card Fraud	4.14
4	E-money Fraud	3.52
5	Remittance Fraud	2.80

This evolution indicates that fraudsters are shifting from physical theft to digital and document-based schemes, likely exploiting weaknesses in verification systems and digital identity management.

What Can Be Done?

• Banks must invest in document authentication systems, artificial intelligence-powered fraud detection, and consistent staff training.

• Regulators should enforce stricter compliance checks and ensure institutions take prompt disciplinary action.

• Customers must be educated on emerging fraud trends to reduce susceptibility to social engineering tactics.