Fiverr accounts manipulation by Betopia puts country’s freelancing sector in crisis

Afterwards, on 4 August 2026, a notice was published in the Bangladesh section of Fiverr’s community forum. In the notice, a Fiverr community coordinator said that complaints had been received against various companies alleging that they created and controlled freelancer accounts on behalf of others and used fake reviews and orders to influence the marketplace’s reputation and position

In the notice, Fiverr said that accounts and orders linked to these activities had been identified through an initial investigation. It also said that action would be taken against accounts violating its policies, including lowering their position on the marketplace. At the same time, Fiverr said it would continue the investigation and further improve its internal detection systems to quickly identify such coordinated manipulation in the future.

The incident has also caused concern in Bangladesh’s freelancing community. People involved in the sector fear that if the impact of allegations of coordinated manipulation against an organisation falls on Bangladesh’s freelancing market as a whole, countless genuine freelancers could have to bear the consequences

The journey of the tech company BD Calling IT began in 2017, which is now known as Betopia Group. The group has also purchased several properties. Its head office is at Lotus Kamal Tower-2, Level 6, (59 and 61), South Avenue, Gulshan Avenue, in the capital. It also has offices in Banasree and Mohakhali in the capital

A few days ago, the company purchased a nine-storey building on 8.8 per cent of land under the name of BD Calling IT Limited in Gulshan (House 8/C, Road 29, Gulshan 1, Dhaka). A signboard outside the building says, “This property is mortgaged to Premier Bank PLC, Keraniganj Branch, Dhaka.” The website says Betopia Group has five companies outside the country as well. However, no response was received from the people concerned about how these are operated from Bangladesh.

300 accounts suspended, thousands more under investigation

According to vities, Fiverr directly suspended around 300 accounts linked to Betopia at the end of July. At the same time, thousands more accounts linked to Betopia were reportedly brought under investigation over allegations of coordinated marketplace manipulation

However, the notice published on Fiverr’s community forum on 4 August did not specifically mention 300 accounts or the name Betopia. According to sources concerned, instead of opening accounts directly in Betopia’s name, these accounts had been opened using the identities and passport information of people working at Betopia. After the investigation revealed how the accounts were operated and how identities were used, action was taken against the accounts concerned. Against this backdrop, a warning notice about coordinated account manipulation was published on Fiverr’s Bangladesh community forum.

Meanwhile, on completed through Betopia-linked accounts had been cancelled

What did Fiverr say in its 4 August notice?

The notice titled “Ensuring fairness and integrity: an update on coordinated account manipulation,” which was published on Fiverr’s Bangladesh community forum on 4 August 2026, contained a detailed warning about coordinated account manipulation on Fiverr

In the notice, Fiverr said “We want to address something the community has raised directly

“We received reports of agencies conducting coordinated account manipulation on the Fiverr marketplace: creating and controlling freelancer accounts on behalf of others and generating fake reviews and orders to manipulate marketplace reputation

“After an initial investigation, we have identified accounts and orders connected with these operations. As a result, all accounts found to be in violation are being issued a warning and will be demoted on the marketplace. In parallel, we are conducting a full-scale update to our marketplace governance mechanisms and will update the community in the coming months,” the notice read

Third-party account operation prohibited

Several provisions of Fiverr’s own policies are directly related to the allegations against Betopia. According to Fiverr’s policies, a user can have one account for the purpose of buying and selling services. Creating multiple accounts and attempting to influence the marketplace’s operations or systems is considered a serious policy violation. In such cases, Fiverr may take strict action, including permanently suspending the account. In addition, gaining an unfair advantage over other users, creating confusion by misusing messaging or the order system, and using multiple accounts for fraudulent activities are also prohibited under Fiverr’s policies.

However, the most important issue in this case is “fake identity”. According to Fiverr’s policies, an account cannot be opened in another person’s name using their identity or personal information. That means even if an account is opened in one person’s identity, if its actual control is in the hands of another person or organisation, it would conflict with Fiverr’s policies. Because of this provision, Fiverr’s “fake identity” policy has become particularly important in the allegations against Betopia.

Allegations of using fake orders to lower competitors’ rankings

Betopia has been accused of using fake accounts to place orders on competitors’ freelancer gigs or accounts and then deliberately cancelling the orders or requesting refunds in order to harm their rankings. The issue recently came to light following allegations made by freelancer MN Nahid on Facebook

He claimed that an order was placed on his Fiverr gig from an account linked to Betopia and was later cancelled. The information in a Figma file that he presented as evidence in this regard raised allegations of the involvement of a Betopia employee

After the allegation became public, Betopia denied the matter and filed a general diary against Nahid at a police station, subjecting him to harassment. When the incident became public, it sparked strong reaction among freelancers

The controversy intensified after a former Betopia employee’s statement was published on social media. The former employee claimed that fake orders were used to harm competitors and increase the rankings of their own gigs

Allegations not limited to Fiverr

Alongside the allegations surrounding Fiverr, allegations against Betopia Group of withholding employees’ passports, threatening them with lawsuits or harassment if they wanted to leave their jobs, and physically abusing employees have also spread on social media

Former employees have also accused the company of making them work for free or for low pay, carrying out large-scale layoffs within a short period, paying salaries irregularly and making employees work overtime. A former software engineer, who did not wish to be named, claimed that despite meeting the set targets during their internships and performing well, most members of a batch were dismissed after just one month on the pretext of an “evaluation score”.

There are also allegations of discrimination against Betopia over its salary structure. The complainants claim that the company has no clear policy regarding employee benefits such as provident fund, gratuity, health insurance and festival allowances

From BD Calling IT to Betopia

Former employees alleged that Betopia used to publish job advertisements under the names of various affiliated companies or different organisations to avoid a negative image. Names such as FireAI, JVAI, SparkTech, Softvence and SMTech have emerged in this regard. According to information on Betopia’s own website (betopiagroup.com), the group has 22 companies under it

Bangladesh’s freelancing sector under concern

Thousands of young people from Bangladesh are legally working on various international online marketplaces, including Fiverr and Upwork. Working under their own identities, they regularly bring foreign earnings into the country. However, recent action surrounding Betopia following allegations of fraudulent activities through the operation of a large number of organised accounts from the same country has also raised concerns among genuine Bangladeshi freelancers.

People concerned alleged that following recent action against Betopia, many accounts of real Bangladeshi freelancers are also being subjected to additional scrutiny. As a result, the working environment for real freelancers has become more difficult due to identity verification, review checks, account restrictions or increased monitoring

What people concerned are saying

Faisal Alim, secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of Contact Center and Outsourcing (BACCO), told Prothom Alo, “Any attempt to hinder the progress of freelancers is highly condemnable. Freelancers are on the priority list of the current government, and the government is committed to ensuring all necessary support for them. In such a situation, I strongly demand that swift and strict legal action be taken against those who are hindering this promising sector for young people.

“We believe that if our freelancer community receives opportunities, facilities and security, it will prosper further in the coming days and strengthen the economy by earning a record amount of foreign currency for the country,” he added

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Source: en.prothomalo.com