Identity Fraud: A Literature Review and Future Research Directions

Abstract

Identity fraud has been reported as one of the fastest growing crimes in the world today, and a key facilitator
of terrorism, money laundering and trafficking (of people, drugs, weapons and illicit material). In the last few
years, there has been a significant increase of academic research on the subject. It is important to establish the
adequacy of exiting literature. This academic literature targets to explain the trends and methods as well as
future risks and implications related to identity fraud. The aim of the review is to survey the literature and
identify gaps in coverage and methodology and thus areas requiring future research. A standard systematic
literature review method that involved a search of academic articles from digital libraries was used. A total of
120 articles were selected and a content analysis was performed on the identity fraud phenomenon which led
to the identification of thematic areas. These thematic areas are (i) technical issues, (ii) policy and legal
issues, (iii) trends, (iv) target sectors and (v) type of research. The analysis of these papers provides useful insights into the anatomy of identity fraud. It is hoped that this review will be a good resource for anyone
who is interested in undertaking identity fraud research.