A Seattle tech worker inspired by the movie 'Office Space' swiped $300K from his...

The 1999 cult hit “Office Space” hilariously lampooned corporate culture, its numbing mundanities and soulless assaults on the dignity of everyday employees.

But more recently, in a scheme that looked a lot like the movie’s key plotline, it appears to have inspired one man in Washington state to steal $300,000 in funds from his employer.

If only our online vulnerabilities were so funny. Consumers lost nearly $6 billion to fraud in 2021, a 70% jump over the previous year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. More than a third of the losses were connected to imposter scams, the FTC said.

Our expanding digital footprints are found across an endless web of online vaults, bank accounts and file storage sites. Everything — retirement savings, payroll information and other valuable assets and resources — have been reduced to binary code. And having it all laid out so neatly can be a tantalizing temptation for hackers who can drain your funds faster than you can figure out who stole your stapler.

Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself.

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Scheming in Seattle

Police in Seattle allege a software engineer for online retailer Zulily used malicious code to route more than $300,000 to his personal bank account.

Investigators found a file on the worker’s laptop titled “OfficeSpace Project” that held details of his alleged plan to move shipping fees into his own bank account — mimicking the movie’s storyline of engineers who plotted revenge for their company’s downsizing plans by embezzling fractions of cents into a personal bank account. He's also accused of having used his access to adjust prices to buy items at significantly discounted prices.