Facebook And Google Revealed As Victims Of A $100M Phishing Scam

If falling for an email phishing scam is on your list of embarrassments as a tech user, you can now feel a little better, as two titans in the industry have been confirmed to have recently fallen for the same type of security mishap: none other than Facebook and Google. Last month it was reported that the US Department of Justice had arrested and charged Lithuanian man for a phishing scheme that had two tech companies on the hook for $100 million, and now they've been named.

While the federal case left the two companies unnamed, it revealed that Evaldas Rimasauskas had used fraud, identify theft, and money laundering to scam the victims out of more than $100 million. He managed to pass himself off as Quanta Computer, a Taiwanese parts manufacturer and supplier, and forged everything from emails and invoices to business contracts.

A new report from Fortune identified the victims as Facebook and Google, with representatives from both companies confirming to the publication that they had fallen for the scam. The DoJ originally described the companies as "a multinational technology company, specializing in internet-related services and products, with headquarters in the US," and "a multinational corporation providing online social media and networking services." Once Quanta, which provides parts for both Facebook and Google, as well as Apple and Amazon, admitted its name had been used in the scam, it was pretty obvious which companies were being talked about.

Facebook has said that it has been "cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation," while Google told Fortune that it had "promptly alerted the authorities" after the fraud was detected. Both companies add that they have recovered most of the funds they lost to the scam, but didn't mention specific amounts.

SOURCE Fortune