Sri Lanka’s largest online marketplace ikman.lk announced recently that it has always had stringent measures to ensure the safety and authenticity of all advertisements posted on its website. 

Online marketplaces all over the world have given rise to fraudulent ads posted by fraudsters with the intention of deceiving potential buyers. Given the possible dangers of such ads, ikman.lk has proactively implemented a comprehensive method of detecting such ads. The process involves carrying out a survey of all posted advertisements on a monthly basis by a dedicated and experienced team trained and equipped to identify any misgivings. User feedback and other internal monitoring systems are also used to detect such ads, ensuring that each user has a high quality user experience every time they visit ikman.lk.

Complimenting this process, a 35 member ikman.lk customer service team works 24/7 to screen every ad which is posted on ikman.lk, before the ad goes live on the site. Customer service agents follow a standard set of guidelines when screening an advertisement which includes, ensuring the validity of phone numbers, making sure the current posting is not a duplicate of a previously posted advertisement, unrealistic pricing detection, ensuring the location of the item is in Sri Lanka and posted in the correct category with an accurate description and inclusion of all required information.

Mr. Stefan Beekmeyer Director Marketing and Sales of ikman.lk advises users to educate themselves on online safety. “We urge users to follow simple steps to protect themselves. For instance, we propose keeping things simple by meeting the seller in person, checking the item and making sure you are satisfied with it before you make a payment, exchanging the item and making the payment at the same time, avoiding anything that appears too good to be true such as unrealistic pricing and promises of quick money, and not declaring financial information such as bank account details, and any other information that could be misused.” He further stressed customers who suspect an item to be posted by a possible fraudster are encouraged to report this to ikman.lk by the use of the “Report Ad” icon located at the bottom of the detail view of the ad.

An average of 14,000 ads are received on ikman.lk on a daily basis, all of which go through the stringent screening process after which approximately 10,000 ads go live. The site has grown in popularity among the urban and semi-urban population and has earned a reputation of being the most convenient option for classified advertising over traditional mediums. ikman.lk sees approximately 2.5 million unique visitors per month and also boasts the largest product portfolio.