OLX launches webwise, an initiative to promote online safety

New Delhi: OLX, India's leading online classifieds, launches its consumer safety initiative, OLX Webwise.

The initiative aims to raise awareness among users about measures to keep oneself safe while transacting online.

Under Webwise, OLX will be promoting online safety through its initiatives which includes, Product updates, user safety guidelines, awareness programs with law enforcement authorities and customer support.

Keeping user experience at the heart of the platform, OLX has been working towards building a safe and secure product.

The current mobile app features mandatory registration login, chat first interactions and hyper-local browsing, which takes away the inconvenience of interacting with unknown users.

OLX India works closely with law enforcement authorities and civil society organisations to conduct workshops with cyber-crime cells on emerging trends in online space and assisting them with tools for their investigation.

In 2017-18, OLX facilitated workshops with police authorities in Noida, Gurugram, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, it intends to continue the outreach with authorities across other cities in the coming fiscal year.

With its social media channels, OLX is addressing some of the prominent issues faced by users by urging them to follow simple tips such as - avoid making advance payments, meet at public places to buy/ sell, make transactions face-to-face and verify product before buying.

By addressing these issues, OLX wants to nudge users to wisely take actions to safeguard themselves online.

To take the initiative offline, OLX launched a trust and safety help centre, which is managed by a specialised team trained to handle and address issues affecting user's trust and safety.

The helpline will assist users seeking redressal for matters around safety such as fraudulent transactions, suspicious ads, advance payments and more.

Further, the team will provide safety guidelines, which offer users a more detailed insight into staying safe on the platform.

OLX encourages users to report fraud as well as alert the team of any suspicious activity they encounter while using the platform.

Users can connect with the trust and safety help centre on +91 9999140999 or email at safety@olx.in.

"Online fraud, like offline, are a reflection of the ailments plaguing our society. We believe addressing this larger eco-system issue is a shared responsibility. As a consumer centric brand, we take trust and safety as a key priority across functions. With our awareness initiatives such as OLX Webwise combined with constant improvement of our product, our attempt is to educate and help create a safer online experience for our users," said Irwin Preet Singh Anand, COO, OLX India.

OLX WebWise - No Advance Payment

As a part of the Webwise initiative, OLX has released four safety tip videos on social media:

Film 1: No advance payments - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cThoS4sFpCc

Film 2: Meet face-to-face - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZSD1eF8Ojc

Film 3: Meet at public places - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Wn8Es2Dyw

Film 4: Check before you buy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SZ4IRT9sGI

Each film shows two wise men having an intellectual conversation and giving an important safety tip, in a humorous and unpredictable setting.

The series is running on all social media channels of OLX India, in the last one week all four films have crossed over