Google mistakenly deposits $249,999 into security expert's account

Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A Google spokesperson said a nearly $250,000 payment placed in the account of a confused cybersecurity professional was the "result of human error."

Sam Curry, a staff security engineer at Yuga Labs and a self-described "hacker," said on Twitter that Google sent $249,999 into his bank account without explanation and he was unable to get a response from the company after three weeks of contact attempts.

Curry said he sometimes conducts bug hunting projects for tech companies like Google, but he couldn't find any link between any recent projects and the mysterious payment.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the payment was an error and said the company is now taking steps to correct it.

"Our team recently made a payment to the wrong party as the result of human error," the representative told NPR. "We appreciate that it was quickly communicated to us by the impacted partner, and we are working to correct it."

Curry confirmed Friday that he had finally heard back about his inquiries.

"Google did indeed contact me and I'm going to head into the bank today to pay it back," Curry told MarketWatch.