Phishing Scam Bilks Google and Facebook out of $100 Million
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 04/28/2017 10:45 AM
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The Justice Department announced the arrest of a 40-something Lithuanian named Evaldas Rimasauskas who used a phishing scam to bilk Google and Facebook out of an estimated $100 million.
Rimasauskas forged email addresses, invoices, and corporate stamps in order to impersonate a large Asian-based manufacturer. The scheme ran for two years. The Feds were able to recover most of the stolen funds.
Rimasauskas is facing extradition to the U.S. in Lithuania. His lawyer is fighting the extradition: “Mr. Rimasauskas cannot expect a fair and impartial trial in the USA. The uncertainty is further increased taking into account the behavior of FBI agents during the interrogations of Mr. Rimašaukas, frightening him with long years in US prisons, and the transfer of computers to US law enforcement officials, which was made without the presence of the owner.”
The Justice Department did not at first name the companies involved but only referred to them as: a "multinational technology company, specializing in Internet-related services and products" and the other as "a multinational corporation providing online social media and networking services."
Facebook confirmed it was one of the victims of the fraud. "Facebook recovered the bulk of the funds shortly after the incident and has been cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation," said a company spokesperson.
Google this week confirmed it had been targeted. "We 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," said a Google spokesperson.
Source: Fortune
Rimasauskas forged email addresses, invoices, and corporate stamps in order to impersonate a large Asian-based manufacturer. The scheme ran for two years. The Feds were able to recover most of the stolen funds. Rimasauskas is facing extradition to the U.S. in Lithuania. His lawyer is fighting the extradition: “Mr. Rimasauskas cannot expect a fair and impartial trial in the USA. The uncertainty is further increased taking into account the behavior of FBI agents during the interrogations of Mr. Rimašaukas, frightening him with long years in US prisons, and the transfer of computers to US law enforcement officials, which was made without the presence of the owner.”
The Justice Department did not at first name the companies involved but only referred to them as: a "multinational technology company, specializing in Internet-related services and products" and the other as "a multinational corporation providing online social media and networking services."
Facebook confirmed it was one of the victims of the fraud. "Facebook recovered the bulk of the funds shortly after the incident and has been cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation," said a company spokesperson.
Google this week confirmed it had been targeted. "We 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," said a Google spokesperson.
Source: Fortune
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