Nigeria's Prembly Fights $10B Fraud Crisis With Free Tool

Fraud costs Africa $10 billion every year, but one Nigerian company just made it easier to fight back.

Prembly, a digital security firm based in Nigeria, has launched FraudLens, a free open-source database that helps banks, fintechs, and businesses detect and prevent fraud. The platform pools fraud intelligence from hundreds of companies, analyzing patterns to catch bad actors before they can strike again.

The timing couldn't be more critical. Nearly 60% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa now have financial accounts, up from less than 40% just ten years ago. That's incredible progress for financial inclusion, but it's also opened new doors for criminals using AI-powered scams, synthetic identities, and deepfake technology to steal money.

FraudLens works by collecting fraud reports from businesses using Prembly's technology. Each incident gets analyzed to identify patterns, creating a shared intelligence network that helps everyone stay safer. When one bank spots a scammer, every other institution can see the warning.

"Data sharing is the critical first step toward meaningful fraud reduction," said Lanre Ogungbe, Prembly's CEO. "We haven't seen any resource this accessible and comprehensive, and rather than waiting for someone else to build it, we decided to."

The platform serves three groups. Financial institutions get access to verified information about known fraudsters and documented scam patterns. Researchers and policymakers can use the data to create better fraud prevention policies. Everyday consumers can browse the database like a library, learning to recognize common scams and protect themselves.

The Ripple Effect

FraudLens represents more than just another tech tool. It's part of a growing movement across Africa where startups like Smile ID and Dojah are building homegrown solutions to continental challenges. By making fraud intelligence open and accessible, Prembly is strengthening trust in Africa's entire digital financial ecosystem.

The database started with Nigeria but aims to expand across the continent. Every fraud pattern caught, every scammer identified, and every person educated creates a safer environment for the millions of Africans joining the digital economy for the first time.

Founded in 2021 by Ogungbe and Niyi Adegboye, Prembly already provides AI-powered identity verification tools to businesses across Africa and globally. FraudLens marks their first publicly accessible resource, turning private security into a public good.

As Africa's digital revolution continues, tools like FraudLens prove that the continent isn't just adopting technology, it's innovating to make it work for everyone.