Remember the movie “Office Space”, where the characters attempt to create a virus that will steal fractions of pennies from an accounting system . . . hoping that it will add up in the long run?

Well, the scheme got botched in the movie . . . and yet, a criminal thought it would be a great inspiration for a REAL-LIFE THEFT.

A 28-year-old software engineer in Seattle was arrested after being caught skimming money from his employer, Zulily.com.  He manipulated the code so the checkout page would send shipping fees to HIS personal account.

He got around $260,000 before he was caught . . . plus about $41,000 in merchandise.  That’s about the same amount as the $300K stolen in the movie.

The man told detectives the plan was inspired by “Office Space”.  He even outlined the plan in a file on his laptop, which was titled “Office Space project.”  He’s been charged with two counts of theft in the first degree and one count of identity theft in the first degree.