E-commerce sites earning infamy

Some major e-commerce platforms in the country have been riddled with scam after scam. Defrauding customers was widespread and it didn't happen in a day. It is not as though people weren't aware of what was going on. Public service announcements had been made by various authorities warning people about outrageous offers being made by some e-commerce sites. Yet, the frenzy of making huge savings or buying products at fabulously low prices caught the public's imagination and made possible multi-billion taka scams.

While Evaly will remain forever etched onto the Bangladeshi consumer's mind, many other dotcom sites followed it. Among them are names like Eorange, Qcoom and Sirajganj Shop. While litigation is on against many of these companies, it is now known that these three sites still owe its customers Tk1.62 billion. That sum is not a joke. But then, neither was the Evaly's. The first and most successful (according to some industry insiders) online site, which in its heyday was offering the latest 2-wheeler bikes and scooters at significant discounts, and that was just one product segment that had caught the public's imagination. The frenzy it had caused in the public mind is when the authorities concerned should have stepped in to take a closer look at the books of accounts. But either Evaly had found a loophole in the system that allowed it to continue operating with impunity, or the authorities felt that they had done their job by issuing a few statements in the press.

It is simply astonishing to see people go gaga over what is essentially a Ponzi scheme model of business. This scheme is a "form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. The scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from legitimate business activity" and these customers "remain unaware that other investors are the source of fund". Such Ponzi schemes have been used in every country, and the end result is always the same. The "scheme" comes apart when new investors stop investing new money.

When the Evaly scam came to light, it was hoped that the authorities would wake up and frame rules, amend laws or formulate new ones to make it harder for these scammers to do business in Bangladesh. Apparently, that has not yet happened. As is evident from the news that Bangladeshi customers' funds are stuck in some 27 online shopping malls and the value of those funds are to the tune of Tk27 billion! Not all are Ponzi schemes per se. However, the fact remains that little is being done to make people aware of their rights when it comes to purchasing goods/services online. Again, the law remains opaque to affected consumers because the body that is supposed to look after consumers' rights remains woefully understaffed and under-funded.

It is to the advantage of scammers and fraudulent business interests if this watchdog body remains weak in terms of human resources and magisterial powers. The rules that are in place need to be reviewed with the intention of modernising them while making it more uncomfortable for scammers. If laws to protect consumers remain weak and the fines small, it is only natural that online scammers will have a field day to defraud potential customers. The year has not been easy for anyone. Financial desperation leads people to do believe in magic, but greed leads them to lose all common sense and invest in the impossible. The authorities have to act now in order to put an end to such online business scams.

E-commerce sites earning infamy

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