❓ A WA parliamentary question investigates whether government agencies within the Water; Sport and Recreation; Forestry portfolio were victims of business email compromise scams and what preventative measures are in place. All agencies responded negatively and outlined existing controls.
AnsweredQoN 5845Legislative Assembly
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?
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
18 October 2016
Responded by
Minister for Water; Sport and Recreation; Forestry
Response time
34 days
Aqwest (a) No (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) Aqwest has undertaken staff awareness training of the risk of scams. Aqwest’s purchasing system has internal controls which assist in the protection against scams. Such controls are subject to both internal and external audit review.
Busselton Water (a) No (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) Busselton Water verifies details with creditors prior to making changes to creditor records.
Combat Sports Commission (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) The CSC utilises the Department of Sport and Recreation’s financial management system. This system requires a requisition, a purchase order and line manager approval prior to an invoice being paid.
Department of Sport and Recreation (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e)Department of Sport and Recreation has a secure procure to pay purchasing system. All goods and services submitted for payment would require a purchase order to initiate a requisition for goods and services, followed by Managers approval and then further approvals by the CFO or staff. Department of Water (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) The Department of Water has appropriate internal controls that are regularly audited through the Department’s internal audit program and the Office of the Auditor General. These include segregation of duties related to raising and payment of invoices, secondary confirmation of vendor detail changes and separate officers responsible to amend and approve changes.
Forest Products Commission (a) No. (b)-(d) Not applicable. (e) The FPC has internal controls procedure for amending creditor bank account details. In light of this scam, the FPC has alerted staff and improved controls to further check the credibility of change in bank account details directly with the original creditor.
Venues West (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) Existing internal controls at VenuesWest are strong, with processes regularly assessed through the internal audit program. VenuesWest requires a written confirmation of any changes in bank account details and then confirmation by a different medium, such as a phone confirmation through the supplier’s Accounts staff.
Water Corporation (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) Water Corporation has implemented a number of people, process and infrastructure measures to reduce the likelihood of such an occurrence.
Western Australian Institute of Sport (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e)WAIS has detailed procurement processes, and checks and balances in place to ensure that money is only paid to organisations and individuals who have a valid claim. These include, detailed financial delegations, requirement of a purchase order for purchases over $500, separate incurring and certifying sign off for all payments, review of all payment runs prior to releasing funds.
Busselton Water (a) No (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) Busselton Water verifies details with creditors prior to making changes to creditor records.
Combat Sports Commission (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) The CSC utilises the Department of Sport and Recreation’s financial management system. This system requires a requisition, a purchase order and line manager approval prior to an invoice being paid.
Department of Sport and Recreation (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e)Department of Sport and Recreation has a secure procure to pay purchasing system. All goods and services submitted for payment would require a purchase order to initiate a requisition for goods and services, followed by Managers approval and then further approvals by the CFO or staff. Department of Water (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) The Department of Water has appropriate internal controls that are regularly audited through the Department’s internal audit program and the Office of the Auditor General. These include segregation of duties related to raising and payment of invoices, secondary confirmation of vendor detail changes and separate officers responsible to amend and approve changes.
Forest Products Commission (a) No. (b)-(d) Not applicable. (e) The FPC has internal controls procedure for amending creditor bank account details. In light of this scam, the FPC has alerted staff and improved controls to further check the credibility of change in bank account details directly with the original creditor.
Venues West (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) Existing internal controls at VenuesWest are strong, with processes regularly assessed through the internal audit program. VenuesWest requires a written confirmation of any changes in bank account details and then confirmation by a different medium, such as a phone confirmation through the supplier’s Accounts staff.
Water Corporation (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e) Water Corporation has implemented a number of people, process and infrastructure measures to reduce the likelihood of such an occurrence.
Western Australian Institute of Sport (a) No. (b) – (d) Not applicable. (e)WAIS has detailed procurement processes, and checks and balances in place to ensure that money is only paid to organisations and individuals who have a valid claim. These include, detailed financial delegations, requirement of a purchase order for purchases over $500, separate incurring and certifying sign off for all payments, review of all payment runs prior to releasing funds.
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