A WA parliamentary question sought information on whether agencies within the Minister's Agriculture and Food; Transport portfolio fell victim to scams. All agencies reported no losses and outlined preventative measures.

AnsweredQoN 5844Legislative Assembly
Asked
14 September 2016
Portfolio
Agriculture and Food; Transport

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the online news article published by the ABC online on 17 August 2016 in relation to scammers stealing $500,000 from West Australian businesses over the past two years as reported by the Department of Consumer Protection, and I ask: (a) have any WA Government agencies within the Minister’s
portfolio of responsibility fallen victim to these scams over the past two
years; (b) if
so which agencies have been impacted; (c) for each agency impacted, what was the nature of, and the
dollar amount lost in connection to each scam; (d) have
criminal charges been laid against any persons or entities in connection to
these scams; and (e) what
measures have you taken to ensure that public funds are not lost to scammers
via WA Government agencies?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
19 October 2016
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food; Transport
Response time
35 days
The Department of Agriculture and Food advises:
(a)        No, the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) has not fallen victim to this scam.
(b)-(d)
Not applicable
(e)        DAFWA has undertaken a review of the processes that have been targeted by the scammers and strengthened the controls around bank transfers and supplier creations. The Financial Management manual has been updated to include a reference to the potential of scam emails/letters of this sort being received by the department.
The Department of Transport advises:
(a)          No
(b)-(e)
Not applicable
Main Roads Western Australia advises:
(a)          No
(b)-(e)
Not applicable
The Public Transport Authority advises:
(a)          No
(b)-(e)
Not applicable
The Kimberley Ports Authority advises:
(a)          No
(b)-(e)
Not applicable
The Pilbara Ports Authority advises:
(a)           No
(b)-(e)
Not applicable
The Mid-West Ports Authority advises:
(a)           No
(b)-(e)
Not applicable
The Fremantle Ports Authority advises:
(a)           No
(b)-(e)
Not applicable
The Southern Ports Authority advises:
(a)           No
(b)-(e)
Not applicable

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