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

But more recently, in a scheme that looked rather a lot just 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.

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If only our online vulnerabilities were so funny. Consumers lost nearly $6 billion to fraud in 2021, a 70% hop over the previous 12 months, in line with the Federal Trade Commission. Greater than a 3rd of the losses were connected to imposter scams, the FTC said.

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

Here’s what you could know to guard yourself.

Scheming in Seattle

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

Investigators found a file on the employee’s laptop titled “OfficeSpace Project” that held details of his alleged plan to maneuver shipping fees into his own checking account — mimicking the movie’s storyline of engineers who plotted revenge for his or her company’s downsizing plans by embezzling fractions of cents into a private checking account. He’s also accused of getting used his access to regulate prices to purchase items at significantly discounted prices.

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In an interview with police, the engineer claimed the orders got here to his house by mistake after a test he’d run. He claims he’d just forgotten to inform his employer or return the items. After which once he was fired, in line with the police report, he says he just thought, “F— ’em.”

We will chuckle on the Seattle suspect’s inspiration, but online theft has turn out to be a decidedly unfunny threat to the net property of hundreds of thousands of Americans and businesses.

The peril is very acute for consumers. Consider the growing popularity of online banks, a lot of which supply jaw-dropping rates of interest for savings accounts — a transparent advantage over bricks-and-mortar banks until you do not forget that those funds are only a username, password and a few authentication away from a hacker’s worst intentions.

When you’re hacked and drained, heading to the local branch for resolution is probably not an option.

It didn’t help things when LastPass — a popular password manager lauded for its secure storage of usernames and passwords — was hacked, exposing consumer data.

Read more: The perfect investing apps of 2023 for ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunities (even should you’re a beginner)

Protect yourself

There are some obvious things you may do to remain secure online. Strong passwords mix numbers, cases and special characters to foil brute-force attacks. And scrutinizing that too-good-to-be-true email offer can reveal spelling errors, grammar mistakes and other tells that may unmask a bumbling phishing attempt.

But another less obvious technique of protection are sometimes ignored:

• Multi-factor authentication: More often than not, usernames and passwords just aren’t enough. Large firms and banks already aggressively push multifactor authentication — which requires a user to present two or more pieces of evidence to confirm identity — so as to add useful layers of protection. When given the choice, think about using it.

• Avoid public wireless networks: Tempted to make use of that airport layover to pay some bills or move money between accounts? Reserve it for home. Publicly accessible Wi-Fi networks could also be life-savers on the coffee shop or airport terminal, but they’re notoriously leaky and vulnerable to sniffing and so-called “man in the center” attacks that intercept messages between individuals who assume they’re communicating directly with one another.

• Audit your digital footprint: It’s time to take stock of your online presence. What number of accounts do you might have? What number of have you ever used these days? Consider deleting old and unused accounts and services that require a password. You can too use privacy extensions along with your web browser, and avoid using common single sign-on methods that use your Google or Facebook credentials to access sites and accounts. If those high-value systems are hacked, you’re vulnerable.

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This text provides information only and shouldn’t be construed as advice. It’s provided without warranty of any kind.