Google has canceled a Cebu deal with Sykes, an American multinational business process outsourcing provider, over a fraud incidence involving gift cards and Bitcoin, according to Newsbytes.
Sykes is headquartered in Tampa and provides business process outsourcing (BPO) services, IT consulting, and IT-enabled services, such as technical support and customer service.
According to the report, the company is no longer in partnership with Google, as some of its employees were found stealing and converting online gift cards to Bitcoin.
The news about the fraudulent activity first surfaced on social media in early August, alleging that about three Sykes’ employees in Cebu, Philippines, were caught channeling about $ 1.2 million (P60) worth of Google online gift cards to themselves and converting them into Bitcoin over a long time.
Following the illegal act perpetrated by Sykes’ employees and propelled by the need to keep its business in good shape, Google decided to transfer its business partnership with Skyes to another vendor in the Philippines, according to a statement a Google representative.
Skyes did not deny the illegal act committed by its workers and has held the criminal responsible. The firm mentioned in a statement that the employees involved in the operation were dealt with after the company learned about the violation of its standard of conduct.
However, Skyes denied some posts made on social media that the company had relieved about 300 of its employee due to the incident.
“While there have been business changes that may have impacted some groups, we have ensured that all our hardworking employees are reassigned to other programs,” the company said.
Skyes also mentioned that it has clear policies and procedures guiding the decisions it makes during incidents of fraud. The company notes that its principles help in preventing, identifying, and managing instances of fraud within the organization.
“We value the trust that our clients and employees put in us and will continue operating with the highest standards of quality and professionalism,” Skyes added.
