Malad businessman duped to the tune of Rs 2.8 lakh by online cons

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A businessman who allegedly runs a chemical supply business in Malad was duped to the tune of Rs 2.8 lakh by online cons who lured him of a lucrative deal. The Malad businessman has now alerted many others who were also on the verge of paying money to the web network of fraudsters.

The 27-year-old businessman who runs his chemical supplying business from Malad met a woman named Lena, who posed herself as a production manager of Poland-based pharmaceutical company. In his complaint, the man alleged that the woman contacted him via email, and asked him to supply chemicals to her company. She also promised him of getting good deals every month and that she would take 20 percent commission behind every consignment.

The woman asked the businessman to provide around 400 to 500 litre of Tetrapleura oil' (one-litre cost around 1.25 lakh) every month. The woman also said that the company used to take the order from a Delhi based company but due to a dispute they stopped taking orders and started looking for new vendors.

The businessman said that he wasn't aware of the oil to which the woman helped the man and even shared the contact number of the company that was previously supplying the oil to her company. Post which, the businessman enquired about the oil and was quoted Rs 1.20 lakh per litre by Madhvi Joshi from the Delhi-based company.

The Malad businessman forwarded a quotation to Lena who then said that she will be visiting India with her colleagues to check the quality of the oil, post which they might give an order of 500 litre. The businessman bought 200 ml oil from the Dehli based company at the cost of Rs 30,000 to show the sample to Lena and her colleagues.

In the meanwhile, the businessman was contacted by a man named Robert, who said described himself as the Purchase Manager of Poland-based chemical company. While Robert requested him to bring 14 litre of oil for quality testing, the Malad businessman bought 2 litre of oil after paying Rs 2.5 lakh via RTGS to the Dehli based company.

Lena and her team were supposed to arrive in India by February 4, but when they did not turn up, the businessman realised something amiss. He realised that his messages were blocked and that he couldn't get through their numbers.

The businessman even tried sending back the oil to the Delhi-based company only to realise that the company's address was fake. Post which, the businessman decided to sell the oil and came across four to five people from Kerala, Malegaon, and Mumbai who showed interest.

While speaking with Malegaon businessman Nanavati, the Malad businessman realised that it was the same con group who tried to dupe Kerala businessman George and Niranjan from Mumbai. Upon realising that the group was part of online cons, the Malad businessman immediately rushed to Malad police station and revealed the incident to them.

He also submitted a written complaint to the Malad police on which the police registered a complaint on February 17. "We have registered the case under section 419, 420, 506 and 34 of IPC. The investigation is underway," said an police official from Malad police station.

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