Analysts believe that fraud costs the nation considerably more than any other type of crime. It has serious consequences for all Australians, whether they be victims of fraud whose trust has been betrayed, or consumers who are required to shoulder the burden of business losses through increased costs of goods and services. It is surprising, therefore, that so little is known about the nature and extent of fraud. This may be due in part to fraud being seen as remote from the interests of average Australians, but also because it involves offences which are sophisticated in their planning and execution, under-reported and difficult to investigate. Although some forms of fraud appear to be waning, victimisation surveys have found that businesses continue to lose millions of dollars each year through fraud of various kinds. These losses are, in turn, passed on to consumers. This Trends and Issues reviews existing data on fraud trends in Australia and identifies ways of improving our level of understanding of the extent to which such crime occurs.