Like other countries of the world, online shopping is gaining popularity also in Bangladesh.  According to the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-Cab), there are currently more than 1,000 registered online platforms across the country. More than 50,000 products are delivered through these sites every day. People's dependence on e-commerce is increasing due to inability to visit shops physically as before. And by capitalising this opportunity, a vicious circle are utilising it to cheat customers.

Many customers are being cheated in various ways, falling prey to scams with glamorous advertisements and lucrative offers, by buying products online. In particular, the sellers are not delivering the desired product as per the demand of the buyer. Even if they do send, usually supply of low quality products is now happening all the time.

This kind of fraud has increased even more during the Corona pandemic situation. When people are in their houses due to lockdown to prevent corona outbreaks, it is not always possible for them to go to the market to buy the necessary items. So people are becoming dependent on online shopping at a higher rate. But a group of fraudsters is weaving a net of fraud in the name of business by capitalising on this demand for online products. The product that has been ordered is not delivered, rather they deliver another one that is substandard or incompatible with the product ordered. In a word, it is called 'large-scale cheating.'

Now it is seen that online shopping has also become popular through various pages or groups on Facebook. Many people have started online business by opening pages on their own initiative. But the question is about reliable sites!

"Salman is a student of the Department of Economics at Jahangirnagar University. While scrolling through the newsfeed on Facebook, he suddenly saw an ad for an e-commerce site. The name of the site is 'UR Fashion'. He orders the shirt of his choice. The price of this shirt was TK 1,100. As per their terms, he paid the money through bKash. Three days later, the product arrived at his courier address. Salman was very happy to receive the delivery. But on opening the packet he found that the shirt which he ordered was not there. Moreover, a low quality clothe was delivered. When the matter was brought to the notice of the person working in the courier service, he said, "Their job is to deliver the product only. They are not responsible for whether the product is genuine or counterfeit." Then Salman called the company from which he bought the product. At first they did not receive any call from his number. Later on he told about the matter by calling from another number, they said that they will not change the product and will not return the money. Even after talking for a long time, there was no solution to the issue. On the contrary, the people of "UR fashion" cut off the conversation and used bad language with him.

Saiful Islam is another such victimised at the same time on that day. He also saw an advertisement on Facebook and ordered 'iPhone-X' from an e-commerce site. Although he was supposed to get the product in two days, Saiful Islam finally got the product in seven days by calling again and again. The money was already paid through bKash. Saiful came to the courier to receive his desired product. He opened the packet and saw a second hand set of Nokia-1100 model instead of iPhone-X. At the time Saiful became senseless with rage. Where is iPhone-X and where is Nokia-1100! After a while, when he regained his sense, he called the number from which he had ordered the iPhone, it was seen that their number was blocked."

The rate of online shopping in the country is now higher than ever before. However, many people's experience is similar to Salman and Saiful Islam. And this is having an impact on the country's e-commerce. This is proving to be an obstacle in the way of expanding digital marketing system and building digital Bangladesh.

If you are deceived in buying products online, the seller can be prosecuted under the country's consumer rights law, subject to certain evidence. But due to lack of publicity, not all the people of the country know about the process of this law and regulations. And for this, the concerned department has to take effective steps to make the people aware about the rights related to purchase of goods online and increase the promotion of consumer rights law.

Moreover, the first thing that is required when shopping for products online is 'awareness'. You should refrain from ordering in a hurry after seeing any attractive or tempting advertisement or offer. First of all, it is necessary to monitor whether there is any discrepancy between the name and address of the organisation and the name and address of the owner. It is necessary to see if the trade license of the organisation is valid. Many online companies also conduct business with trade licenses. You need to see if there is a copy of the trade license on the website and what is the registration number.

Scan the QR code of the organisation.  If you are asked to pay a price to a bKash number, you have to verify the number by calling from multiple numbers. And if you are asking to deliver the product through courier service, you have to take care that the product is delivered specifically and the purchase receipt is given. And for this, people have to use their own observation power to see the reviews of the established organisation, verified pages, analyze all the judgments, and then order the product. In case of buying any product, you have to order the product from the website, pages which provide the product first and after receiving the specific product, the price can be paid directly to the sales representative.

Above all, we need to be aware and vigilant in doing online shopping. Moreover, the people or organisations who are deceiving people online, should be identified with the help of information technology and strict punishment should be handed out according to the law of the country. Only then the confidence of the people will increase in online shopping. Then we will be able to expand e-commerce and build a bona fide 'Digital Bangladesh'.

Emran Emon, Department of English, University of Chittagong