In a bold new chapter of workplace comedy, employees at an unnamed manufacturing company have inadvertently become the latest benefactors of tech-savvy pirates. By innocently seeking out their payroll portals on Google, they’ve stumbled into a digital ambush worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. Reminiscent of the classics, this saga involves fake login pages that are as convincing as a polyester suit at a disco ball.

Threat hunters from ReliaQuest, who discovered this payroll pantomime in May 2025, report that the hackers’ SEO wizardry rivals only that of dubious social media influencers. It’s a heist that makes even the daring escapades of Danny Ocean look like amateur hour. While the hackers cash in on paychecks not meant for them, the real employees are left checking their bank accounts with the same disbelief one might reserve for spotting Bigfoot at the local Starbucks.

As more warriors of the cubicle kingdom fall prey to this digital sleight of hand, experts remind us that there’s a silver lining in every cloud. If nothing else, this mishap serves as a cautionary tale about the hazards of online searches, reminding us all that truly, in the vast world of the internet, not everything is as it seems. The next time an employee Googles their paycheck details, perhaps they might pause to think—’Is this page legit, or is some hacker out there about to upgrade their yacht?’