Bikroy Takes Measures To Tackle Fraud

Bikroy.com, the leader in marketplace space, has recently announced that the company is getting serious about fraud on its platform. It has banned ads for any duplicate or replica products on its platform and also implemented a new ad poster verification method in order to make sure that real owner is posting the ad.

The announcement came in a time when law enforcement force has turned their attention to online buying and selling and is tightening security measures to prevent fraud and transaction of illegal goods in online shopping.

“As the ecommerce industry grows in Bangladesh, so do to the opportunities for fraud and theft by private individuals who wish to use the relative anonymity of online marketplaces to their advantage. As the largest online marketplace in Bangladesh, Bikroy is working in order to prevent these incidences from occurring on the site”, a bikroy press release told.

Key measures:

• ad poster account verification process. It is now mandatory for all new ad posters to verify their mobile phone numbers through a one-time code, sent through SMS. This will prevent ad posters from posting a phone number other than their own.
• The company has also stopped allowing sellers to post ads of all replica and clone items.

Misha Ali, Bikroy’s Director of Marketing said: “As the leading online buying and selling site in Bangladesh, we also have been at the forefront of providing security for our users. We did it last year by introducing our Buy Now service, which increased safety and security for our users, and we’re doing it again now by proactively removing unwanted inventory on our site through these new measures. We look forward to helping form the laws that will protect online consumers in Bangladesh.”

This is an interesting move on the part of Bikroy, more so because there is a widespread allegation against Bikroy for allowing fake products on its platform.

Online shopping fraud has become a huge problem in Bangladesh. It has slumped customers’ trust in online sellers and is among the reasons behind the slow growth of online shopping in the country. While there are allegations against many online marketplaces of fraud and fake products, a very few of them has taken active measures to tackle this problem.

It is hard for a marketplace to tackle problems like fake products and theft because they seldom deal with the products instead they operate as a platform where sellers and buyers meet and do the transaction. In fact, players like Alibaba is struggling with this problem. That said, it is important for ecommerce companies to take measures to solve this problem if they want to gain customers trust. Given the Bikroy’s early move, if the company implements said measures, this is a great strategic move to build trust in the market.