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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.)

Come and face the law: HC to Vijay Mallya

Mumbai: In a strong sign of judicial impatience, the Bombay High Court asked the absconder liquor baron Vijay Vittal Mallya to ‘come back to India and face the law' instead of challenging it from London, where he is currently living.

 

A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad took exception to Mallya’s attempts to question the validity of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 without first submitting to or facing the Indian courts.

 

“You have to come back. If you cannot come back, then we cannot hear this plea,” the court said bluntly, during a hearing of Mallya’s petition challenging the proceedings that have declared him a fugitive economic offender and the constitutional validity of the FEO Act, 2018.

 

The court’s stern remarks followed an earlier order of Dec. 23 when it had directed Mallya to file an affidavit stating when he plans to return to India from the UK.

 

The court had made it clear that his challenge to the FEO Act would not be heard unless he first submitted to the court’s jurisdiction.

 

However, Mallya not only failed to specify his return date but also went ahead with his legal challenge without complying with the court directives.

 

“You are avoiding the process of the court, so you cannot take advantage of the present petition challenging the FEO Act,” said the court to Senior Advocate Amit Desai appearing for Mallya.

 

Representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta informed the court that Mallya had filed an affidavit claiming the banks were wrong to demand the money (dues) from him and was attempting to turn the case into recovery proceedings.

 

Mehta pointed out that Mallya had challenged the FEO Act, 2018, only after becoming a fugitive and while India was completing his extradition proceedings in London. He submitted that Mallya could come to India and argue everything but he should have faith in the Indian laws to claim equity.

 

“He can come and discuss everything – that ‘I am ready to pay, not ready to pay, not liable to pay’, etc. But he cannot ‘not’ trust the laws of this country and still invoke equity jurisdiction,” said Mehta emphatically.

 

When Desai argued that the nature of the statute permitted a hearing even in the petitioner’s absence, the court reminded him that a specific direction to state (Mallya’s) date of return was already on the record.

 

“In fairness to you, we are not dismissing it. We are giving you another opportunity,” said the bench, posting it for hearing next week.

 

The judges cautioned that if Mallya continued to ignore the court’s earlier order, they would be compelled to pass an order of ‘non-compliance’ if he failed to comply at the next hearing.

 

Time running out?

The once flamboyant and self-proclaimed ‘King of Good Times’ Mallya, 70, slipped out of India in March 2016 following huge debts piling up after the collapse of the Kingfisher Airlines, with a consortium of 17 Indian banks claiming default of over Rs 9000-crore loans.

 

The two-time MP also faced multiple probes from the Income Tax Department, ED, Central Bureau of Investigation and in 2019, he was declared a fugitive economic offender, which he has challenged. However, Mallya has claimed that he has repaid Rs. 14,000-cr. to banks against the loan dues of Rs 6,200-cr.

 

India moved for Mallya’s extradition which was cleared but the process has been stuck in delays.

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