Beware of the new online scam

Illustration: TBS

Nowadays, everything is influenced by technology, and the ability to shop online remains attractive. However, hidden traps of scams lurk in the corner of the digital marketplace, and there is a new scam getting traction. Here online-based businesses deceive consumers by offering superb deals like high-configuration laptops for only Tk7,999 or even Tk6,999. 

These fraudulent entities require their potential customers to pay in full beforehand, and, of course, these frauds accept the money and demonstrate their true intentions to their many victims. Their scams are usually well disguised behind seemingly legitimate reviews and account details, making it difficult for the common buyer to differentiate a scam from the real thing.

According to the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh, from July 2017 to August 2021, 4,982 complaints of this type of scamming were registered against Facebook pages, acknowledged by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP), and the number is growing with time.

This scam is supported by professionally developed websites or Facebook pages containing a large number of genuine-seeming testimonials and fake user accounts using stolen photographs. These are fake business pages that appear quite legitimate at first glance but are actually meant to lure the common consumer. 

Nonetheless, many people get duped by these scammers and suffer huge losses. These fraudsters continue committing the crimes due to the reluctance of the victims to report it to the cybercrime unit. 

The reasons include ignorance of how to seek remedies, fear of legal ramifications resulting from persistent loopholes, and a restricted and traditional family environment that does not encourage the pursuit of justice. This is because victims prefer to keep quiet out of fear of complicating the matter by coming forward to report the crime or feeling too embarrassed about having been conned.

Furthermore, the current digital payment systems, especially the MFS approach, which is supposed to protect users, somewhat assist fraud in operation through different technical loopholes. 

Additionally, most consumers do not know where to turn when they have been defrauded of their cash, and the system overseeing this area is not well-equipped to handle fraudulent claims.

Another significant enabler of this fraud is the loopholes in Facebook's advertising policies. These fraudulent pages exploit the platform's ad system to reach a broad audience, ensnaring more victims with their targeted ads. 

Facebook's current algorithms and oversight mechanisms fail to detect and block these malicious pages, allowing them to continue their operations unchecked. 

To address this prevalent problem, more effort and strategies need to be employed. First and foremost, our legal framework should be strengthened so that individuals who become victims of online scams can seek justice for themselves without much difficulty and complications.

Another critical factor that would help in fighting this menace is digital literacy. People have to learn what strategies are employed by online scammers and how they can spot the fakes. In this regard, awareness campaigns should focus on the need to read reviews critically, check the credentials of sellers, and make secure payments.

In addition, digital payment providers need to improve their security and create efficient and effective methods for solving fraud cases. Customers need to be educated on what to do when they have been scammed, and the payment platforms should assist the victims in recovering their money with ease and within the shortest time possible. 

Adding on to the previous point, features like transaction alerts, fraud detection algorithms, and simple reporting tools can go a long way in preventing digital extortion. 

Moreover, sites such as Facebook need to be pro-active to tackle such issues. They need to improve their ad review policies to identify and blacklist scammers who wish to advertise their fake pages.

Finally, combating online scams is everyone's responsibility for all the parties and institutions involved, including law enforcement agencies, digital payment service providers, social media platforms, and the general public. 

The legal framework has to be adjusted to provide stronger protection and redress mechanisms. Thus, the strengthening of digital payment security and improvement of the regulation of social networks will help make the internet space safer for everyone.

Khairul Sadman Farabi is a Student Tutor (ST) at Brac Business School, Brac University. 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.