Somewhere in the career of the IT auditor, he/ she will come across a piece of evidence of a fraud (and possibly not realize it is related to a fraud), discover a fraud or be asked to assist in a fraud investigation. Thus, one of the basic sets of knowledge the IT auditor needs is some essential information about fraud detection. This article attempts to identify some of the most important facts about fraud that are particularly applicable to the IT audit function. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but rather five things that would assist IT auditors in fulfilling their duties related to fraud in everyday tasks. These five are not ranked in any particular order.