Bank fraud is using fraudulent methods to obtain assets, money and other property owned by a financial institution.  It could also be obtaining money from depositors by falsely representing to be a financial institution or a bank. In most instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense.

In North America, this is a billion dollar yearly industry. It affects a lot of financial institutions and individuals since the costs of these frau are passed to the consumers. This fraud is a way of life to some people and also a means to a short-term loan for other people. Aside from a criminal offense, it could also result to bad credit history since most financial institutions report illegal bank activity to the credit bureau. Still, there plenty of people who do not consider these consequences when getting a short-term loan without the authorization of the bank.

An example of bank fraud is using empty envelope deposits. For instance, a young person who needs cash and could not borrow the money from a friend or parent may try to make a deposit to their account through the automated bank machine which lets them obtain cash immediately up to a set of amount of the deposit. The problem is when the envelope is empty, thus, it becomes illegal.