I bought Google.com for $12, claims former employee

A former Google employee claims he became the proud owner of the Google.com domain for one whole minute.

In a blog post, Sanmay Ved detailed how while browsing Google Domains, he noticed the world’s most popular domain was on sale for US$12.

Expecting to be rejected, Ved attempted to buy the domain, and said he was surprised when it was charged to his credit card.

Webmaster messages for the domain appeared in his Google Search Console, leading Ved to believe he was the owner of the Google.com domain, he wrote.

"Additionally, I started receiving notifications, for when ownership changed (along with new owner details etc.) in the Google Search Console for websites .. that are powered by Google Sites (which makes sense given that websites powered by Google Sites rest on the master domain Google.com),” Ved said.

“Quite clearly, ownership had been granted to me. Order was successful.”

He said the transaction was cancelled a minute later. Ved reported the incident to Google Security, but said he was unsure why Google lost control of the domain.

At the time of writing, a search of Google.com showed it was not available to purchase.

Ved worked at Google for over five years to 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Google declined to comment to CRN on the incident.