Online fraud rings using Benapole’s name spread nationwide

Online fraud operations are spreading across the country using the name of Benapole, a prominent border town. Organized gangs are exploiting Facebook pages and profiles to lure people with enticing advertisements for Indian products at discounted prices. Pages with names such as “Benapole Border Cross Bike,” “Online Shop,” and “Indian Product in Bangladesh” are being used to run these scams. These pages post attractive images of border-crossed Indian bikes, mobile phones, cameras, televisions, refrigerators, and other goods, offering them at unusually low prices to attract customers.

The scammers claim that there is no need to pay in advance to purchase a bike—only a delivery fee of 3,000 to 4,000 taka is required. In this way, the fraudsters trap unsuspecting buyers and swindle them out of their money.

Kamrul Hossain, a young man working in the administration in Dhaka, shared that he ordered a refrigerator from a Facebook page named “Online Shop.” The deal was supposed to be cash on delivery. Two days later, a man identifying himself as a ‘delivery agent’ called and said a code was required to dispatch the product. When Kamrul contacted the number listed on the page, he was told the refrigerator had already been sent but an advance payment was needed to receive the code. Trusting the process, he sent the money—only to find that all further contact was cut off and the page had vanished.

Sabina Akter, a garment worker from Narayanganj, said she paid 1,200 taka in advance to order a bicycle. But afterward, both the Facebook page and the mobile payment number became unreachable.

Complaints of such fraud are being regularly filed at Benapole Port Police Station. Although some scammers have been arrested in operations by the district intelligence agency, the scams continue. These fraud rings keep creating new pages under different names and adapt their tactics to deceive people.

Government officials acknowledge that the nature of online fraud is constantly evolving. They stress the need for greater public awareness to prevent such incidents. Cybercrime experts advise people not to order products online without proper verification.

What started at the border has now spread throughout the country. To curb this growing threat, strong administrative action, tech-driven investigations, and widespread public awareness are urgently needed.