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.