According to social media posts, the MFS suspended the accounts after users received refunds from several e-commerce platforms
A considerable number of Nagad user accounts have been suspended by the mobile financial service (MFS) provider, citing fraudulent activity.
At the end of last week, Nagad had issued the suspension notice through SMS, asking users to call 16167 for any further clarification on the matter.
Following the suspension, users of the MFS took to social media to express their concerns.
One Nagad account holder, Hassan Muhamad Parvez, wrote in a Facebook post: “My Nagad account has been suspended. I cannot log in to the app. Tried customer care, but could not connect with them. What should I do now? I have a good amount of money in that account.”
Those who were able to reach customer care were told that the accounts had been suspended because of fraudulent activity.
Also Read - Nagad handovers few accounts' info to law enforcers
According to the social media posts, the MFS had suspended the accounts after users received refunds from several e-commerce platforms.
Ashish Chakraborty, chief information officer at Nagad, told the Dhaka Tribune that their system runs on an algorithm and upon detecting suspicious transactions, they suspended the accounts of the users.
“Suppose your debit card pin is entered wrong several times, your card will get deactivated for a certain period until an investigation is completed. That is the case for us as well. Our system detected suspicious transactions as they involved some e-commerce platforms,” Chakraborty explained.
The suspended accounts were mostly found to have been involved in getting refunds from e-commerce platforms, such as that of sirajganjshop.com.
Jewel Rana, CEO of sirajganjshop.com, went live on Facebook recently and said the platform had detected some technical problems which had led to some consumers receiving refunds more than once.
“However, we have been able to bring the situation under control," he added, claiming the platform was able to get the extra refunds back from the consumers.
The CEO also said the platform uses SSL Commerz, VISA, Mastercard, and Nagad as payment gateways, which are not responsible for the inconvenience.
Earlier, the Commerce Ministry had sent a letter to Bangladesh Bank, seeking information on the latest financial situation of several e-commerce companies, including that of sirajganjshop.com.
The other companies are Aleshamart, Dhamaka, E-orange, Sirajganj Shop, Aladiner Prodip, Qcoom, BoomBoom, Adyan Mart, and Need.com.bd.
In the letter, the ministry sought information on the total liabilities of the companies to the buyers and merchants and the amount of current and fixed capital of the companies.
Also Read - Evaly begins layoffs, postpones salary
It also sought to know whether the companies had embezzled money.
Nagad previously accepted payments on products with discounts ranging from 15% to 40% offered by these platforms that have come under fire lately.
“The e-commerce sector of the country has fallen vulnerable to several scams and there is a SOP that has been introduced in that regard. In the interest of the sector, we are working under that framework and have submitted the details of the accounts to relevant authorities instead of just investigating ourselves,” said Chakraborty.
According to the official, the details of the accounts have been sent to Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the cybercrime unit, BTRC, and other relevant authorities.
He added: “I understand consumers are having a hard time regarding this and I empathize with them. But no one is above the law.”
The official added that Nagad would go live on Facebook soon to address its users regarding this matter.
Leave a Comment