Simplified Laws Guide to Taxation and Legal Concern Here is something I have observed in both newspapers and public chat groups. Though these are two independent points, I am clubbing them together here.
First Point: Stories in the Newspaper
Every day, newspapers report on criminal or cheating cases, which I will classify below:
- Honey Trap: Here’s a headline: “Honey Trap Case: Two Held for Swindling Rs 2.5 Cr.” How does this happen? It’s due to people’s lack of restraint in befriending unknown individuals. When you have control over your impulses, you can’t be easily “honey-trapped.”
- Insurance Policy Renewal Scam: You might receive a call claiming that your insurance policy from 2005 is about to expire. The caller might tell you that you’ll receive Rs. 5,000 if you cancel it now. But if you pay Rs. 2,00,000 now, you’ll get Rs. 5,00,000 in six months. This “too-good-to-be-true” offer lures many. Why? Greed. When driven by uncontrolled greed, people forget their actual past actions. If you took out a policy, wouldn’t there be a record of it at home? People lose their senses when promised huge gains.
- Drug Case – Digital Arrest Scam: A call informs you that the police have seized a parcel sent from Delhi to Pattaya and that you’ll be arrested. Surprisingly, fear drives people to pay large sums to fraudsters. Recently, I read about someone losing Rs. 5 crores to this scam. If you haven’t done anything illegal, why would any parcel matter to you? How can people be so easily deceived by these calls, losing money as a result? Why don’t we use our judgment when it’s needed?
Many traps like these happen daily. When analysed, they all boil down to either greed or fear. When one uses clear judgment, only good outcomes follow.
Second Point: Responding to WhatsApp Messages
I have noticed that even in the best WhatsApp groups, people tend to respond impulsively to messages as soon as they appear on their screens. Today, for instance, a false message about the Direct Tax Code was shared in a group. Fifteen people responded immediately, each offering their opinions or predictions! A few minutes spent verifying the source would easily reveal the message as false or fabricated.
This “group mentality” can drive people into a frenzy. I hope common sense prevails, encouraging us to pause and verify before responding to misleading or inflammatory messages. If all the “Forward” (not Harvard!) and WhatsApp University professors understood this simple principle, 90% of fake news wouldn’t exist.
