AN INCREASE in online scams highlights critical gaps in digital regulation and citizens’ protection. Fraudulent activities include fake part-time job offers circulated on messaging platforms, sham stock investment apps, phishing through one-time passwords, parcel scams and deceptive multi-level marketing schemes. A businessman, as as case statement says, invested about Tk 1.5 crore in a fraudulent online stock trading app after being lured by advertisements and initially credible-looking transaction. When he was unable to withdraw the funds and the platform demanded additional payment, he filed a case with the police under the Cyber Security Ordinance, 2025, alleging fraud. The Criminal Investigation Department on March 30 recovered more than Tk 44 crore laundered abroad through the Metaverse Foreign Exchange online investment scam. Investigators found that the platform defrauded thousands of investors by showing fake crypto profits. Victim experiences show a trajectory of initial optimism followed by significant financial loss and distress. Many individuals invest their savings, take out loans or, even, mortgage personal assets in the hope of making quick profits. The problem highlights the urgent need for strong regulatory oversight, public awareness, and more effective mechanisms for redress and prevention.
The legal system’s role in preventing online financial crimes remains largely reactive. It depends on case filing, digital tracing and inter-agency cooperation, leaving many victims in prolonged uncertainty. A Nagad agent filed a case with the police on April 5, 2025 in the hope of recovering money taken from his account through a scam. The Cyber Crime Unit of the city police has investigated the case, but the money could not be recovered even a year later. There are many victims of such online scams seeking to recover their lost money. During the Covid outbreak, when online shopping became popular, platforms such as eOrange, Evaly, Qcoom, and Alesha Mart collected large sums in advance from customers by offering bargain prices but syphoned off thousands of crores of takas, instead, without delivering the goods. Despite the scale of the scams, the authorities have never provided a definitive estimate of how much money was misappropriated. Amid public outcry, the government later set up the central digital commerce cell to oversee refunds, but the refund process has been slow and often stalled. Investigating agencies say that they often cannot recover money quickly because most victims do not file formal complaints and recovery must go through court proceedings, making the process dependent on legal steps and, thus, slow and time-consuming.
The growth of online scams exposes serious weaknesses in digital regulation and the systems designed to protect citizens. The government should, therefore, consider enhancing legal mechanisms to contain online financial crimes; and in doing so, it should provide appropriate training for law enforcers to tackle crimes on social media. Equally important are large-scale awareness campaigns to educate people in how to detect scams.
