Dev Stunned By $82K Gemini Bill After Unknown API Key Thief Goes To Town
The Register, Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026
Probably not an isolated incident only as researchers have already found 2,863 live API keys exposed
A developer says their company is on the hook for more than $82,000 in unauthorized charges after a stolen Google Gemini API key racked massive usage costs up in just 48 hours.
"I am in a state of shock and panic right now," the dev wrote on Reddit, and went on to detail how his startup's Google Cloud API key was somehow compromised between February 11 and February 12. During that time, unknown miscreants used the key to spend $82,314.44, primarily on Gemini 3 Pro Image and Gemini 3 Pro Text.
This is quite a cost jump, considering the three-developer Mexico-based company, usually spends $180 a month. This was about a 46,000 percent increase.