What Nigerian Businesses Must Know about AI-Powered Phishing

In 2024, a Nigerian financial tech firm lost ₦72 million within a span of 48 hours after employees fell for a nearly flawless AI-creatively crafted phishing scam. Phishing activities driven by software such as ChatGPT and Grok are intelligent, quick, and difficult to spot. Nigerian enterprises, particularly SMEs and government institutions, are directly in the crosshair.

Phishing was rough. Poor spelling, strange grammar, and bland hellos betrayed it. AI eliminates those vulnerabilities. Attackers can now:

• Write Persuading Emails in a Minute.

• Scale personalization with names, titles, and local points of reference.

• Create many variations to find out what works best.

• Even conduct real-time interviews with victims through AI-composition of responses.

And they require no special skills. Phishing campaigns of professional grade are run easily with criminal ai spam toolkits.

Nigeria faces a unique mix of risks:

• Excessive dependence on internet and app-based banking, wherein a single pilfered credential spells immediate loss of money.

• No language impediment exists. LLMs compose seamless English and reproduce Nigerian phrasing so messages come across as native.

• SMEs and ministries tend to be weak on advanced email security and frequent staff training, thus remaining vulnerable.

In early 2025, conmen preyed on a ministry of the government. Emails purporting to be from a senior minister and accompanied by AI-composed responses were prevented when a junior officer spotted the English was excessively finished and grabbed the phone to check. It was a lucky move that prevented the loss of hundreds of millions of taxpayer funds.

AI makes phishing harder to spot and block:

• Because it’s emails are as error-free as the context, with little to no red flags.

• Because they can be personalized at scale, past your filters.

• Because they can be Emailed, Whatsapped, Telegrammed, and even sent through LinkedIn.

What should your organisation do?

1. Lock down email
   Establish DMARC, DKIM, SPF. Utilize cloud email securities if in-house security is not within budget.

2. Strengthen identity
   Use MFA for high-risk accounts. Hardware tokens are optimal, but even application-based MFA provides a decent barrier.

3. Practice for realism
   Don't lecture, test for phishing. Incorporate local scenarios and inject WhatsApp or SMS in training. Train employees to stop and check unusual requests.

4. Observe behavior, not talk
   Utilize tools that flag suspicious Logins, and Device Changes, instead of scanning email body content.

5. Anticipate for failure
   Be prepared for an incident playbook: suspend accounts, reset passwords, and alert stakeholders quickly.

In case budgets are narrow, begin with these five steps:

1. Turn on DMARC, DKIM

2. Place MFA on admin and finance accounts.

3. Conduct a one-day phishing trial.

4. Opt for cheap cloud email security.

5. Maintain a typed incident checklist in each office (Reach out to us for a free incident checklist).

AI will not cease to change, and neither will attackers. Nigerian organisations do not require big budgets to counterattack, defenses do not need to be costly, but they do have to be thoughtful. Each minor movement accumulates to resilience.

An email alone can make or break trust. With AI in the picture, zeal for security is not a choice. The truth is straightforward: bad guys are racing quick with AI. Nigerian enterprises do not have time to move slowly. Today's question every executive needs to pose is not “AI-driven phishing will it come after us?” but “When it does, are we prepared?”