The Internet in itself is a world with unlimited possibilities. People use various techniques for fraud and even Facebook and Google aren’t out of it. The tech companies which are big fish in the Internet world are also being dumped with fake bills.
According to CNBC, a fake business was set-up by Evaldas Rimasauskas and sent a phishing email to employees of Facebook and Google. And by doing so, he syphoned off over ₹685 crore ($100 million) between 2013 and 2015.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement:
“Rimasauskas thought he could hide behind a computer screen halfway across the world while he conducted his fraudulent scheme, but as he has learned, the arms of American justice are long, and he now faces significant time in a U.S. prison.”
He registered a fake company called Quanta Computer Inc in Latvia and he sent a fake bill to Facebook and Google. These fake invoices were so real that none of the companies verified them. They simply paid Rimasauskas the money, which he then transferred to bank accounts set up in Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Latvia.
The fraudster got arrested in March 2017 by Lithuanian authorities and then extradited to the U.S. a month later. Rimasauskas pled guilty agreed to forfeit roughly ₹340 crore.
A Google spokesperson told:
“We detected this fraud and promptly alerted the authorities. We recouped the funds and we’re pleased this matter is resolved.”
A representative of Facebook said:
“Facebook recovered the bulk of the funds shortly after the incident and has been cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation.”
