top of page

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.)

Lok Sabha Speaker asks Rahul Gandhi to follow rules of conduct; LoP says not being allowed to speak

  • PTI
  • Mar 26, 2025
  • 3 min read

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday asked Rahul Gandhi to conduct himself in line with the rules of procedure that members are expected to observe to uphold the dignity of the House, prompting the Leader of Opposition to claim that the remarks against him were "unsubstantiated".


"In this House, father and daughter, mother and daughter, husband and wife have been members. In this context, I expect the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself in accordance with Rule 349 that deals with rules to be observed by members in the House," the Speaker said in the Lok Sabha, adding that MPs conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the high standards and dignity of the House.


Birla did not specify the trigger behind censuring Gandhi, who was present in the House and wanted to speak on some issue but the Speaker adjourned the proceedings after making his point.


However, in a post on X, BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya suggested that the Speaker's remarks were prompted by Rahul Gandhi affectionately cupping the cheeks of his sister and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the proceedings a few days back.


Gandhi later told reporters that he was not being given a chance to speak, alleging that the House was being run in a "non-democratic style". He said Birla had made "unsubstantiated" remarks about him.


"The Speaker just got up and left. He did not allow me to speak a word. He was speaking about me, and I don't know what he said about me, all unsubstantiated.


"I said 'let me speak as you have spoken about me', but he did not say a word and just left. He adjourned the House when there was no need of it," the former Congress president said.


Birla said that several instances have come to his notice where the conduct of members does not conform to Parliament's high standards, adding that it is especially expected of the Leader of the Opposition to conduct himself as per the rules.


After Birla's pointed remarks, Congress MPs trooped into his office to lodge their complaint over Gandhi "repeatedly" not being allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha. Their enquiry into the reason behind the Speaker's comments was also futile, a few of them said.


Tagging a video clip, Malviya in his post on X said, "It is disgraceful that the Lok Sabha Speaker has to remind Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, about basic parliamentary decorum. The fact that Congress has imposed this puerile man upon us is truly unfortunate."


The clip of undated proceedings in the Lok Sabha showed Gandhi walking through the aisle, turning to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and cupping her face affectionately, while his party colleague Manickam Tagore was speaking in the House.


Rahul Gandhi was present in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after an absence of a few days.


Though such an expression of intimate brotherly affection from him inside the Lok Sabha is not new, sources said it was televised and that there is a view that it does not go well with Parliament's image of the "temple of democracy", more so when the House is conducting its business.


Replying to queries from reporters in the Parliament House complex, Gandhi said there is a convention that the Leader of Opposition is allowed to speak, but whenever he gets up to speak, he is not allowed to do so.


"So, in what manner is this House being run? We are not being allowed to speak. I have not done anything, I was sitting quietly. I did not speak anything. In the last 7-8 days, I have not been allowed to speak," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.


In a democracy, the opposition has a place and the government has its own place but here there is no place for the opposition, he alleged.


Gandhi said he wanted to speak on the Maha Kumbh last week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a statement on it but he was not allowed to speak.

Comments

bottom of page