Google, Facebook cheated out of $100m in phishing scheme

In what is considered one of the biggest phishing scams in the world, both Google and Facebook were phished for over $100 million.

The story, as reported by The Guardian, shows that even the biggest technology companies in the world are not immune from the increasingly sophisticated attacks of online scammers.

Both the companies were last month approached by a Lithuanian man, who convinced them into sending him over $100 million (Rs 642 crore). Evaldas Rimasauskas, 48, was charged with wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft for impersonating Quanta Computer – a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer that includes Google, Facebook and Apple as clients.

Now an investigation by Fortune has shown that the two firms Rimasauskas reportedly sent fraudulent invoices to were Facebook and Google, who both paid out over $100m.

Facebook said in a statement: “We recovered the bulk of the funds shortly after the incident and has been cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation.” Likewise Google said it had “detected this fraud against our vendor management team and promptly alerted the authorities. We recouped the funds and we’re pleased this matter is resolved.”