Help safeguard your government’s credit cards with these Fraud Awareness Week tips

In a previous blog post, we recapped five major fraud investigations from 2026 – all of which used a common scheme: credit cards. This isn’t a trend specific to 2026. In fact, since 2021, our investigations have reported on more than $1.8 million in questionable and misappropriated credit card transactions in state and local governments. This is the most costly of all loss schemes, aside from cyber-related losses. 

These investigations point to specific controls issues, including:  

• Not properly safeguarding cards 

• Insufficient monitoring and review of transactions 

• Lack of supporting documentation and receipts 

• Allowing personal use of the government’s credit card 

Additionally, employees using government credit cards for personal purchases is a frequent problem. From January through October 2026, state and local governments reported more than 400 instances of personal use on their cards. Most instances were accidental, self-identified or detected quickly, resulting in repayment by the cardholder. However, a handful have turned into active fraud investigations. 

With that in mind, these are Team Special Investigation’s top tips for safeguarding your government’s credit cards: 

Review and update policies.  

All good governance starts with policies. RCW 43.09.2855 outlines specific requirements that local governments must adopt as part of their credit card programs. Broadly speaking, policies should cover who has a card, what is the card’s credit limit, when and where can it be used, and how its balance is paid. Many credit card investigations reveal personal spending for online shopping, eating out, groceries, household items and travel expenses – that’s why we recommend ensuring policies clearly establish what kinds of charges are allowed and which are prohibited. 

Safeguard and inventory cards.  

As governments grow in size and complexity, it can be difficult to track how many cards are issued and who has them. Our recent investigations have also reported on employees who opened cards in the government’s name, which the government was not aware of, and used those cards for misappropriation. Performing a regular inventory of credit cards goes a long way in ensuring only the necessary employees have a card.  

Obtain original credit cards statements.  

We strongly recommend obtaining and using actual credit card statements for reviewing and reconciling charges across cards. Otherwise, system reports or spreadsheet printouts can be more easily manipulated to conceal nongovernmental purchases or other personal activity. Using the original monthly statements helps to ensure you identify all purchasing activity using records as close to the source as you can access. Remember: an original statement straight from the bank is more reliable than an employee's editable spreadsheet. 

Ensure appropriate and adequate supporting records.  

All charges on a government-issued credit card should be supported with documentation such as receipts, invoices or order summaries. This requirement is especially important for vendors such as Amazon, Walmart, and home improvement and auto parts stores where it can often be difficult to tell if an item relates to government business. Requiring itemized and detailed supporting documents helps remove the guesswork from purchase-record reviews. Governments should also establish a process or form that cardholders sign for verifying purchases with missing receipts or support. 

Perform an independent and prompt review.  

Undoubtedly, the number one recommendation we issue in our investigation reports is to establish or strengthen controls around credit card review. Governments will often rely on the trust they place in their employees to only make allowable purchases, putting off or entirely skipping independent reviews. This can allow easy-to-spot misappropriations to continue for a long time. While the cardholder can reconcile the charges, an independent person (usually a supervisor) should review the monthly activity and ask questions about purchasing activity. A reviewer should look for potential risk indicators and ensure proper support accompanies each charge. 

Always report personal credit card use.  

Under RCW 43.09.185, Washington’s governments must report all “known or suspected losses of public funds or assets or other illegal activity.” Personal use of a governments credit card falls under “other illegal activity,” as it is never allowable under state law, even if paid back. Because of this law, governments should report these instances using the State Auditor’s Office’s Loss Reporting form. For more information on this subject, check out our blog article about reporting all personal purchases on a government card to our Office.