When your government becomes aware of a known or suspected loss of public funds, state law requires that you immediately report it to the State Auditor’s Office. If you’ve reported a loss in the past and are coming back to report something new, you may notice some new questions on the reporting form.
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Fraudsters can impersonate your employees and vendors to redirect Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments meant for payroll direct deposits or vendor payments. You need to stay vigilant and ensure your government has strong internal controls. To help you, SAO has developed a new guide that offers advice on developing ACH payment process policies and employee training, establishing a verification process, and monitoring for unauthorized payee account changes.
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Fraudsters are constantly evolving their wire fraud schemes, which is why you need to ensure your government has strong internal controls in place to prevent them. To help you, SAO has developed a new resource: Best Practices for Sending Wire Transfers.
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A leader of the Washington state auditor’s special investigations team was recently recognized for writing an article sharing lessons on uncovering Washington’s largest public misappropriation.
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The City of Tenino lost $280,309 in public funds after an employee sent the money out of state using a common electronic payment method, according to a fraud report released today by the Office of the Washington State Auditor (SAO).
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A former state Employment Security Department (ESD) employee misappropriated at least $315,282 in 2020, according to a fraud report released today by the Office of the Washington State Auditor. The investigation also identified $121,503 in questionable unemployment benefit payments associated with the same employee.
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To round out the 2021 International Fraud Awareness Week, the State Auditor’s Office has put together a list of our favorite documentaries, short videos and podcasts to help you understand the “human side” of fraud.
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Automated Clearing House (ACH) frauds have been on the rise for a while, and we want to tell you some simple steps you can take to properly verify ACH and payroll bank account changes before making changes.
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Local governments are moving away from traditional paper checks to more efficient and lower-cost digital payments, like direct deposit, automated clearinghouse (ACH) payments, electronic funds transfers (EFT), and wire payments. And the benefits are clear: You can pay a variety of vendors seamlessly, process employee payroll faster, and easily transfer funds between multiple bank accounts.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has likely forever changed how we purchase goods and services—at home and at work. E-commerce and contactless payment options have become the norm, and many governments have transitioned to using credit cards for the majority of purchases and for receiving payments. But as more online transactions occur, fraudsters also have more opportunities to steal credit card information. And judging from loss reports to the State Auditor’s Office, the fraudsters are finding success in their schemes.
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