E-Financial
Digital “Pickpockets” Compromise Over a Million Banking Accounts – Kaspersky
More than one million online banking accounts were compromised by infostealers last year, as financial cyberthreats shifted toward credential theft and data reuse.
Pic credit…cybelangel.com
Attackers are moving away from traditional PC banking malware and increasingly relying on social engineering and dark web marketplaces, while mobile financial malware continues to grow.
Detailed information on current financial cyberthreat trends is available in Kaspersky’s new report.
These digital “pickpockets” often exfiltrate data and remove themselves within seconds, making them difficult to detect.
They are a primary source of initial access for ransomware and identity theft
Traditional financial phishing has not gone away. Pages that mimicked e-shops dominated the financial phishing landscape (48.5% in 2025, up 10.3% from 2024), followed by banks (26.1% in 2025, down by 16.5% from 2024) and payment systems (25.5% in 2025, up by 6.2% from 2024). The decline in bank phishing may suggest that these services are becoming increasingly difficult to successfully impersonate, and fraudsters are turning to easier ways to access users’ finances.
Attackers are adapting campaigns to regional digital habits. In the Middle East, financial phishing is overwhelmingly concentrated on e-commerce (85.8%), indicating a heavy reliance on online retail lures, whereas in Africa bank-related phishing leads (53.75%), which may indicate that user account security there is still insufficient. Latin America shows a more balanced distribution but with a higher share of e-commerce and bank targeting, while APAC and Europe display a more even spread across all three categories, pointing to diversified attack strategies.
In 2025, the decline in users affected by financial PC malware continued as users increasingly rely on mobile devices to manage their finances. Contrary to PC banking malware, mobile banker attacks grew by 1.5 times in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Complementing traditional financial malware, infostealers played a significant role in enabling financial crime both on PCs and mobile devices by harvesting login credentials, cookies, bank card numbers, crypto wallet seed phrases, and autofill data from browsers and applications, which attackers then used for account takeovers or direct banking fraud. Kaspersky data pointed to a surge in infostealer detections (up by 59% globally, 53% in Africa and 26% in the Middle East, on PCs from 2024 to 2025), fueling credential-based attacks.
According to Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence (DFI), in 2025 over one million online banking accounts served by the world’s 100 largest banks fell victim to infostealers: credentials for these accounts were being freely shared on the dark web. The countries with the highest median number of compromised accounts per bank were India, Spain, and Brazil.
74% of payment cards that were compromised by infostealer malware, published on dark web resources and identified by Kaspersky DFI team in 2025, remained valid as of March 2026. This means that attackers could still use cards that had been stolen months or even years prior.
“The dark web has become a central hub for financial cybercrime. Stolen credentials and bank cards that have been harvested by infostealers are aggregated, repackaged, and sold there, while phishing kits targeted at users of financial products are offered as ready-to-use services.
This creates a self-sustaining ecosystem where data theft and fraud operations reinforce each other, making attacks scalable and easy to carry out by fraudsters with minimal experience. Breaking this cycle requires proactive threat intelligence on the part of organisations, and increased awareness and scrutiny from individual users,” comments Polina Tretyak, Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence analyst.
Nigerian capital market will officially transition to a one-day (T+1) settlement cycle on Monday, June 1, 2026, cutting the time required to finalise securities and commodities transactions in half.
The mandate, formally announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires all eligible trades to settle exactly one business day after the trade date, replacing the previous two-day (T+2) standard.
The SEC noted that the journey from T+3 to T+2, and now to T+1, took less than seven months, highlighting an aggressive push toward market modernisation.
To ensure a seamless launch, the SEC has outlined a unique convergence window for the transition.
Friday, served as the final trading day under the old T+2 system, consequently, trades executed on both May 29 and Monday, June 1, will visually converge and settle on the exact same day: Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
From June 1 onward, all transactions will strictly operate under the 24-hour T+1 timeline.
The migration is being coordinated on the technical front by the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), the market’s central depository, alongside major securities exchanges, trade associations, and brokerage firms.
According to financial regulators, the compressed timeline will immediately benefit retail investors by providing quicker access to cash proceeds from share sales.
For institutional players and custodians, the shift requires an immediate reconfiguration of back-office systems and reconciliation workflows to meet the faster execution demands.
Mr. Shehu Yahaya Shantali, managing director and chief executive officer of CSCS, stated that the infrastructure overhaul positions Nigeria alongside top-tier international frameworks.
“The transition to T+1 represents another important milestone in the evolution of Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure.
“It reflects the market’s readiness to embrace reforms that enhance efficiency, strengthen investor confidence, improve liquidity, and align Nigeria more closely with leading global markets,” Shantali said.
Shantali credited the market-wide readiness to months of intensive system upgrades and joint planning spearheaded by the SEC and the T+1 Implementation Plan Committee.
By compressing the settlement cycle, the SEC aims to reduce counterparty exposure, lower systemic settlement risks, and boost overall market liquidity.
The regulator emphasised that this reform bridges the infrastructure gap with developed economies, following the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which migrated to T+1 in May 2024, as well as India’s recent strides toward instantaneous settlement.
The SEC stated it will continue to monitor operational workflows and engage market participants through its automated division ([email protected]) to ensure an orderly transition.
To formalise the launch, CSCS and the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) will host a joint Special Closing Gong ceremony on June 1 at the NGX House in Lagos, drawing together institutional heavyweights and regulatory bodies to mark the start of the live environment.
Access Bank Plc has been recognised with two prestigious honours at the 2026 Global Good Governance (3G) Awards, reaffirming its leadership in corporate governance and sustainable community impact.
The Bank received the 3G Community Empowerment Award 2026 and 3G Best Corporate Governance Framework Award 2026
The awards, conferred by Cambridge IFA under the Global Good Governance Awards (3G Awards) platform, are based on rigorous, independent research and evaluation conducted throughout the nomination process.
The award ceremony was held on April 28, 2026, in Singapore, attracting over 300 high-level participants from more than 15 countries, including leaders from government, corporate organisations, and the social and philanthropic sectors. The event celebrated excellence in governance, sustainability, transparency, and social responsibility.
Mr. Eyitayo Olabode represented the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Roosevelt Ogbonna, at the ceremony, receiving the awards on behalf of the Bank.
Commenting on the recognition, Roosevelt Ogbonna, MD/CEO of Access Bank Plc, stated: “This recognition is a validation of Access Bank’s commitment to responsible leadership, strong governance structures, and inclusive growth. At Access Bank, we believe good governance is foundational to building trust, creating shared value, and driving sustainable development across our markets.
“These awards reflect the dedication of our people and our deliberate efforts to empower communities, embed transparency, and ensure accountability in all that we do. We remain committed to setting high standards that deliver long‑term value for our stakeholders and the communities we serve.”
The 2026 programme also featured the Global Good Governance Summit and the launch of the Global Good Governance Report 2026, hosted by Dentons Rodyk, Singapore. Under the theme “AI Governance for the Prosperity of the People and the Planet,” the Summit provided a global platform for dialogue on governance, ethics, and sustainability.
Access Bank’s achievements underscore its consistent efforts to align corporate performance with social impact, reinforcing its commitment to responsible banking and long-term value creation.
Quest Merchant Bank Limited has strengthened its market position following GCR Ratings’ affirmation of the Bank’s national scale issuer ratings of BBB(NG) and A3(NG), alongside an outlook revision to Stable from Rating Watch Negative.
The ratings action marks a significant milestone for Quest Merchant Bank following a transformative period for the institution, reflecting renewed confidence in the Bank’s financial strength, market positioning, liquidity profile and future growth trajectory.
According to GCR, the revised Stable Outlook is anchored on Quest Merchant Bank’s sound risk profile, improved capitalization and strong liquidity, alongside the successful transition of the Bank’s ownership structure following its acquisition by EverQuest LLP after the divestment by FBN Holdings.
The rating agency also highlighted the Bank’s strong presence within Nigeria’s merchant banking sector, where Quest Merchant Bank accounted for c.30% of the sub-sector’s total assets as of 31 December 2025, reinforcing its position as one of the country’s leading merchant banking institutions.
Further strengthening the Bank’s outlook was the successful completion of its ₦42.9 billion capital raise in March 2026 in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s revised minimum capital requirements. GCR noted that the capital injection is expected to further enhance the Bank’s capital adequacy position and support the next phase of business growth.
Quest Merchant Bank’s asset quality and liquidity profile also remained key strengths underpinning the ratings affirmation. The Bank maintained a NPL ratio of 3.2%, significantly below the broader banking industry average, while continuing to sustain strong liquidity metrics and resilient earnings performance.
GCR additionally recognised the strategic value of the Bank’s relationship with Custodian Investment Plc, noting the potential for expanded business opportunities, operational synergies and stronger profitability over time.
Commenting on the development, Afolabi Olorode, Ag. Managing Director/CEO, Quest Merchant Bank Limited, said: “This outlook revision is a strong signal of confidence in the future of Quest Merchant Bank and the progress we have made in strengthening our organization over the last year.
“Beyond the ratings action itself, this recognition reflects the resilience of our business, the quality of our balance sheet, and the confidence our clients, partners and stakeholders continue to place in the Bank.
“We have emerged from a defining transition period stronger, well-capitalized and better positioned to capture the opportunities ahead. We remain committed to delivering innovative solutions, creating long-term value and supporting economic growth across the sectors we serve.”
The Stable Outlook reflects GCR’s expectation that Quest Merchant Bank will continue to maintain sound asset quality, stable funding and strong liquidity metrics over the next 12 to 18 months, further reinforcing confidence in the Bank’s long-term strategic direction and operating fundamentals.
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