Md. Al Amin

Deception is not only an unethical deed but also a vile process of spoiling people’s trust. It is also a criminal offence, which is a great obstacle to order, security, and peace. It is becoming more terrible day by day. Bangladesh is beset with numberless deadly problems.

Deception is also one of them that we can't deny. To help someone commit any criminal offence like fraud is also one kind of offence according to the laws of Bangladesh. Besides, deception or fraud is a vile deed and a punishable crime according to the Holy Quran and hadiths. It also launches the culture of distrust by spoiling people’s trust.

It can never bring mental peace. For this reason, fraudsters are mentally unhappy. We should always remember that a cursed life is a life of disrespect and sorrow. Poverty or joblessness is also responsible for deception because many needy persons involve themselves in deception to solve their financial problems. Besides, earning money illegally is one of the dirtiest aims of frauds. Fraudsters are becoming more desperate due to light punishment.

I firmly believe that public awareness against deception everywhere and exemplary punishment will eradicate the fraudulent activities from the human society step by step. Some roles of the law enforcers in Bangladesh to arrest frauds are actually extraordinary and laudable. We should always remember that deception is one of the worst deeds.

We find different types of information regarding deception in mass media including social media like Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok, and so on. Lots of fraud gangs give fake advertisements as to part-time or online jobs using mass media and social media including WhatsApp to entrap the people of different ages and professions. If the members of detective branches become more active against the unlawful activities like deception published on social media including mass media, it will be so tough for scattered frauds to organize themselves and cheat people.

Fraudsters are polymorphic and inconsiderate . They are also desperate and active in different places in Ramadan, a special month of self-purification! It’s also true that frauds are unable to give their country something good because they are devoid of conscience, morality, and humanity. It’s a matter of grave concern that the people of different professions and ages are being deceived in Bangladesh according to the published reports of mass media. If the published reports regarding fraud are not taken into consideration by concerned authorities, it will be one kind of injustice to victims. As a Muslim and columnist, I can not but detest deception or injustice. If every person of a society hates unlawful and unethical activities like fraud, nobody will dare to commit crimes.

The teachers, doctors, advocates, students, youngsters, netizens, and government officials are not free from the terrible clutches of fraud gangs in Bangladesh in conformity with different published reports of mass media. If concerned or relevant authorities are unable to stop the deceitful and destructive activities of terrible fraud gangs, the horrible frauds will be capable of disrupting the order, security, and peace of a human society. Fraudsters apply different types of techniques to entrap people. They also try to lure people by offering different kinds of online jobs. If we analyse the published reports of mass media regarding deception, it will be very easy for us to know the authentic pictures of deceitful activities in Bangladesh.

Let's try to know the pictures about fraudulent activities from some reports of mass media though lots of informative reports about deception have been published in mass media: 1. According to the report of The Asian Age on 13 Feb. 2024, law enforcers were capable of arresting two fraudsters with fake smart land development tax receipts (Dakhila) on 11 Feb. 2024. It’s really alarming and thinkable. 2. The members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were capable of arresting Jisan Hossain Rifat at Kadamtali in Dhaka who was accused of making fake currency in conformity with the report of New Age on 17 Feb. 2024. The arrestee was an operative of a gang involved in making fake currency. He also learnt how to make fake currency by watching video contents on YouTube. Rifat and his gang used to sell the fake notes at fish markets, launch ghats, bus terminal, and other markets. It’s evident from this report that some contents of YouTube are destructive and unlawful.

In this regard, relevant authorities should take immediate steps to remove the illegal and destructive video contents from YouTube. 3. According to the report of The Daily Sun on 20 Feb. 2024, the Cyber and Special Crime (South) Unit of the Detective Branch (DB) under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) was capable of arresting the five from Bagerhat, Narayanganj, and Dinajpur on 13 Feb. 2024. The arrestees used to issue birth registration certificates unlawfully to thousands of people including Rohingyas. Two of them were municipality and union parishad computer operators who used to access to the birth registration portal using the credentials of the mayor, executive officers, chairman, and secretary of the respective municipalities and upazila parishad to provide birth registration certificates.

Apart from these, many fake passports were issued using these birth registration certificates to avoid repaying bank loans and committing online crimes by deceiving the police. It’s also clear from this report that many notorious murderers, robbers, and anti-state criminal gangs were capable of hiding their identities and started committing crimes under new identities. It’s certainly a matter of deep concern. 4. According to another report of The Daily Sun on 20 Feb. 2024, a female doctor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) was cheated by a horrible fraud gang. The fraud gang opened several accounts in the names of kabiraj, darbesh, and imam on the social media. The CID arrested 20 members of the gang from Dhaka and Magura after the female doctor (victim) had filed a case with Khilgaon Police Station on 7 Nov. 2023. The arrestees used to talk to different victims in guise of ‘Darbesh Baba' or ‘Kabiraj’ or ‘Imam of Masjid Al Nabawi'. They also gave attractive and fake advertisements on social media and mass media to entrap people in the name of solving personal or secret problems. It’s clear that frauds also use social media and mass media to entrap the people of different ages including women. 5. In accordance with the report of The South Asian Times on 18 March 2024, detectives arrested three Bangladeshi associates of a Chinese fraud gang. The cunning gang recruited Bangladeshi students studying in China to facilitate fraudulent activities. As a result, the three students (arrestees) opened a gambling site in consultation with the Chinese fraudsters. The gang used to apply different techniques (honey trap, loan apps, online financing and multi-level marketing) to entrap people.

The members of the fraud gang were also capable of embezzling a huge amount of money through various online scams targeting Bangladeshis. Then, money went to China through Cryptocurrency. The masterminds (Gaga and Chig Chog) remained in China though the arrestees operated the gambling site. The fraud gang used to lure people by offering part-time or online jobs. 30 Indian SIM cards , used for fraudulent activities, were also confiscated from arrestees' possession. 6. In conformity with the report of The Daily Sun on 23 March 2024, fraudsters cheated the parents of many higher secondary merit scholarship holders introducing themselves as education board officials and looted money from the bank accounts of the parents of some students of Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU). Besides, several students of the university's Law department fell victims to the scholarship scam according to NSTU students. It’s also a matter of deep concern that the students of Law department are not free from frauds. This report also shows us how students’ personal information or privacy is spoilt. From the above reports, it is very clear that frauds are also desperate and active in different places of Bangladesh.

To uproot the culture of deception, concerned authorities should consider the following proposals: I. Monitor the suspects in different sectors including government offices to prevent crimes. II. Maintain the active surveillance of detective branches on necessary sectors everyday. III. Take instant and necessary steps whenever fraudulent activities are published on social media or in mass media. IV. Create public awareness against deception everywhere. V. Form more severe laws against deception because the existing laws against fraud are not enough. VI. Ensure frauds' exemplary punishment. As a columnist, I firmly believe that taking the mentioned proposals into consideration will be the identity of sagacity and dutifulness. The order, security, and peace of a human society will be hampered if deception goes on in this way. So, it’s high time to take more effective steps against deception, an obstacle to peace.

The writer is a columnist. He did master’s degree in English Language and Literature from JKKNIU