The human impacts of fraud

Fraud is a prevalent crime in Australia, one which targets specific groups of vulnerable people/agencies. Its economic impacts and costs are estimated to amount to up to AU$3 billion annually. However, there exist a number of non-financial harms of fraud which are not fully understood in Australia. This white paper reviews the available material, both in research and policy arenas to assess the need for further understanding of the non-financial effects of fraud on victims and their communities. Our findings indicate that – unlike partner countries, such as the UK – there is a significant lack of understanding with regards to the totality of the harm and consequences of fraud. To date, most policies and research are directed solely towards the monetary aspect of fraud. As a consequence, the experience and harms of fraud placed on victims are largely lost to policymakers, hampering the design, and implementation of effective anti-fraud prevention strategies. We argue, finally, that generating knowledge on the non-financial impacts of fraud – alongside the traditional focus on the monetary aspect – will lead to better, evidence-based fraud prevention policies and risk management strategies benefitting the public and the private sector.