CHAPTER 3: Overview of the Concept of Fraud in the Nigeria Banking System

Abstract

Fraud is a universal phenomenon that has been in existence for so long. Its magnitude cannot be known for sure, because much of it is undetected and not all that is detected is published. Fraud however has been defined by many scholars; Olufidipe (1994) defined fraud as deceit or trick deliberately practiced in order to gain some advantages dishonestly.  According to Boniface (1991), fraud is described as any premeditated act of criminal deceit, trickery or falsification by a person or group of persons with the intention of altering facts in order to obtain undue personal monetary advantage. Another scholar Idowu (2009) also sees fraud as a deliberate falsification, camouflage, or exclusion of the truth for the purpose of dishonesty/stage management to the financial damage of an individual or an organization.