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By:

Bhaskar Nath Biswal

13 May 2026 at 8:30:30 pm

E-Commerce’s Hidden Threat

The modern Indian marketplace no longer echoes exclusively with the chaotic bustle of traditional bazaars. Instead, it thrives within the silent, instantaneous clicks of smartphone screens. From monthly groceries to high-end electronics, digital retail has fundamentally altered how households across the country consume goods. This transition has undoubtedly unleashed unprecedented convenience, democratizing access to products for millions living outside metro cities. However, this...

E-Commerce’s Hidden Threat

The modern Indian marketplace no longer echoes exclusively with the chaotic bustle of traditional bazaars. Instead, it thrives within the silent, instantaneous clicks of smartphone screens. From monthly groceries to high-end electronics, digital retail has fundamentally altered how households across the country consume goods. This transition has undoubtedly unleashed unprecedented convenience, democratizing access to products for millions living outside metro cities. However, this hyper-connected landscape has also exposed a deeply troubling reality. As digital storefronts expand, so does the shadowy ecosystem of cybercriminals eager to exploit the trust and vulnerabilities of unsuspecting shoppers. The digital transaction, once celebrated as a triumph of modern engineering, is increasingly fraught with unseen hazards. Protecting consumers from e-shopping fraud has now become an urgent national imperative. Fraud Surge The sheer scale of India’s e-commerce revolution provides vital context for why online shopping has become such a high-stakes arena. Recent market estimates indicate that India’s e-commerce economy has surged well beyond $140 billion, driven by over 300 million active digital shoppers. Projections show this user base rapidly swelling toward 400 million, largely fuelled by deep internet penetration, affordable smart phones and seamless payment infrastructure like the Unified Payments Interface across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Yet, this remarkable surge in commercial volume has been mirrored by an equally dramatic escalation in cybercrime statistics. Official records from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal reveal that citizens have filed over 3.8 million cyber fraud complaints, representing staggering financial losses exceeding Rs. 36,000 crore, with a significant portion stemming from fraudulent online retail schemes. Perhaps most alarming is the historical recovery rate, where less than one percent of stolen funds is successfully returned to victims once transactions cross cyber borders. Despite the pervasive presence of online threats, digital consumers frequently fall into predictable traps that expose them to severe risk. A primary misstep is the failure to maintain basic password hygiene, with millions of shoppers reusing weak or identical passwords across multiple e-commerce platforms and email accounts, enabling attackers to execute swift cascading breaches. Furthermore, shoppers frequently bypass critical verification steps in pursuit of speed, such as failing to verify whether a website domain uses secure, encrypted connections before typing in card credentials. Another widespread oversight is performing financial transactions over unsecured public Wi-Fi networks in cafes or transport hubs, which allows bad actors to intercept sensitive data packets in transit. Many consumers also neglect regular software updates on their smartphones, leaving unpatched security vulnerabilities wide open to malware. Above all, emotional urgency remains the greatest weakness. Impulsive buyers frequently ignore glaring red flags, such as suspicious payment requests or unverified seller profiles. Decoding Scams Recognizing that awareness is the frontline of defence, key industry players and digital safety advocates have begun taking structured action. A prominent example is the consumer handbook, ‘Your Guide to Safe Online Shopping’, developed by Safer Internet India and commissioned by Amazon. The initiative aims to demystify complex cyber security concepts and provide consumers with actionable, real-world tools to navigate the digital marketplace safely. The handbook shines a bright light on the most prevalent fraudulent tactics currently plaguing buyers. To combat these threats, the safety guide emphasizes a multi-layered approach to consumer protection. It urges shoppers to verify web addresses meticulously, refrain from sharing one-time passwords and avoid conducting transactions off authorized brand platforms. Equally important, the guide bridges the gap between technical vigilance and legal empowerment by outlining explicit consumer rights under Indian laws and detailing formal grievance redressal mechanisms. A sustainable defence against online shopping fraud requires an integrated, multi-stakeholder strategy that aligns consumer awareness, corporate accountability and robust law enforcement. E-commerce platforms must continue investing aggressively in advanced artificial intelligence tools to detect cloned websites, eliminate fake merchant accounts and intercept suspicious payment flows before they reach consumers. Concurrently, regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies must strengthen real-time intervention frameworks, expanding initiatives like the 1930 cyber crime helpline and emergency account-freezing protocols to minimize financial damage when breaches happen. On the demand side, continuous public awareness campaigns, modelled after comprehensive handbooks, must reach deep into semi-urban and rural regions where first-time internet users are most susceptible to manipulation. Ultimately, building a safe digital shopping environment is about preserving trust. Only when digital literacy keeps pace with technological innovation can India truly reap the economic rewards of its e-commerce revolution without sacrificing the security of its citizens. (The writer is a former college Principal and Founder of Supporting Shoulders, an Odisha-based non-profit Trust. Views personal.)

Are Bihari Muslim Migrants Game-Changers in Maharashtra Elections?

Bihari Muslim

Even before the Maharashtra polls were announced, Ravi Sunder’s (name changed) daily calendar was choc-a-bloc, with meetings throughout the day. Originally from Bihar, Sunder, apart from being a top-rung corporate honcho, he is also the most sought-after power broker who has made Mumbai his home over the last two decades.


Sunder has been at the core of several discussions with Bihari migrants who come seeking his advice on various issues, from business to even politics. “Local issues will dominate the Maharashtra elections instead of party ideology, and Muslim migrant voters will play a significant role in the victory of most candidates,’ he points out further, adding that the electorate has seen through the faces of most politicians who have been shifting parties at the drop of a hat and that they have hung up their boots on them.


Instead, voters are now interested in seeing what they get in return for their votes, he says, continuing that while everyone is talking about the Marathas, OBCs, and Kunbi vote banks, what many political parties are ignoring is the vast migrant Muslim and Hindu vote banks from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which has grown tremendously over the years. Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, has a large migrant population, which is largely divided, he observes. While there are migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan, Punjab, and the south of India, not all vote together. Each of them has different requirements.


“Traditionally, Biharis and UPiites have been voting for the BJP, but this time around they won’t do so. They will be voting for whoever is going to empower them instead.” he continues, adding that 10 per cent of the total population in Maharashtra, is that of migrants from Bihar. “There are one crore migrant Biharis currently living in Maharashtra and roughly 40 per cent of them have voter ID cards. 40 lakh Biharis will be making a huge difference in the state polls,” he says, adding that most of these migrants work as construction labour, hawkers, or in factories and end up staying in the state buying properties and have moved on to participate in local politics.


“More than the Hindus, the Muslim Biharis are participating in local politics. While some are political workers, some plan on fighting in the upcoming corporation elections. They have also realised that all this ideology is useless; whichever party empowers them with an election ticket, will vote for them. No party is taboo, but whichever party will give them a ticket or empower them is halal for them.”


He believes this trend was started by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Initially, a lot of migrant Muslim Biharis joined MNS; after rinsing in the ranks, they switched over to join the Shiv Sena and later jumped over to the BJP. These Muslims, who were initially quite poor when they started, gradually became rich and powerful, and today they are dominating several pockets across Mumbai city as well.


Today many areas in and around Mumbai, such as Nagpada, Walkeshwar near Malabar Hill (which has a growing Bihari population from Darbhanga), Dharavi, Sion, Kurla, Kalina, Ghatkopar, Antop Hill, Anushakti Nagar, and Shivaji Nagar, have a considerable Muslim migrant population from Bihar.


Traditional Muslim voters who once supported the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, and Samajwadi Party have realized their potential. Now, they are contemplating new political alliances, with the game-changer being the entry of migrant Muslims from Bihar. It would be interesting to see how they will impact the political fortunes of several candidates in these assembly polls.


(The author is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)

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