Thane Businessman Defrauded of Rs 7 Lakh in Expansion Scam

Thane, September 4 (PTI): Three individuals allegedly defrauded a businessman from Thane of Rs 7 lakh under the guise of assisting him in expanding his business. They then misused his company's data by hacking into its systems, the police disclosed on Thursday.

The businessman, who operates a hair oil company in Thane city, Maharashtra, fell victim to this crime over a span of three years. An Amravati-based couple, along with an accomplice from Washim, reportedly approached the businessman with promises to expand his enterprise by opening new branches, developing software, and providing trained staff.

Under these pretenses, they extracted Rs 7,01,500 from him, as per an official from the Wagle Estate police station. The accused further gained access to the company’s social media accounts and proceeded to change the login credentials.

"They infiltrated the system, reset passwords, and exploited the company's data for their own benefit," the official stated, adding that the individual from Washim aided the couple in the fraudulent activities.

Upon discovering that his data had been compromised and the funds embezzled, the businessman approached the authorities on September 1. "We have lodged a case under sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant clauses of the Information Technology Act," the official reported.

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