Worker Outsources Own Job to China ... Makes Profit

Lots of us sneak peeks at Facebook or the web while at work, but one worker at a US company took the habit to a whole new level. A software engineer identified by the Register only as "Bob" outsourced his own work-from-home job to a Chinese subcontractor, then spent his workday checking out posts on Reddit and Facebook, bidding on eBay, and watching cat videos. It worked really well ... for a while. His company's HR department gave his performance high ratings, and he paid the subcontractor only a fifth of his salary.

Eventually, IT personnel caught on after noticing that someone using the employer's credentials was logging into the company's system from Shenyang, China. They brought in Verizon investigators, who figured out the scheme. Bob had apparently outsourced other jobs, making hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit. Verizon's security team shared the details with the Help Net Security website. (A case of life imitating art? The Verge notes a 2009 video from the Onion with similarities.)