Daily News Bites: Digital Defenses, Darshan Timelines & Unified Tax Slabs
The Kolkata Police Cyber Cell has registered two separate cases of post-retirement exploitation where local senior citizens were swindled out of a collective ₹56.6 lakh using artificial technical support lines and fake brokerage applications.
THE BREAKDOWN
The Anandapur Fraud (₹54 Lakh): A 65-year-old resident was added to a rogue WhatsApp group masquerading as an elite institutional trading firm. Scammers coerced him into downloading a cloned application showing artificial profits, eventually locking his funds and demanding a steep fee to withdraw.
The Behala Intercept (₹2.6 Lakh): Searching for a customer helpline to resolve an EPFO discrepancy, a second senior accidentally dialed a spoofed customer care number found online. The fraudster used remote-access software to hijack his phone and clear out his savings.
SAFETY CHECK
Never use random phone numbers found via search engines for bank or EPFO technical support—always pull contact lines directly from official, secure domains like epfindia.gov.in. Furthermore, legitimate brokers do not operate premium investment pools via private WhatsApp groups.
Source: Times of India - Two Senior Citizens Lose ₹56.6L in Cyber Frauds
Source: Times of India - Two Senior Citizens Lose ₹56.6L in Cyber Frauds
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has officially released its autumn online calendar, with the highly sought-after Special Darshan slots for seniors and differently-abled individuals opening tomorrow, June 24, 2026.
THE BREAKDOWN
The Timing: The free Special Darshan tokens for the entire month of September 2026 will be released online in a single phase tomorrow at exactly 3:00 PM IST.
The Advantage: These specialized tokens bypass the standard hours-long physical queues, providing an accessible, comfortable, and expedited spiritual environment for elders.
Preparation: Devotees must log into the official portal early and ensure their valid age proofs (Aadhaar or Voter ID details) are pre-filled in their user profiles to secure slots before the daily quotas fill up.
ACTION STEP
Set an alarm for 2:45 PM tomorrow. Log into the official domain (ttdevasthanams.ap.gov.in), keep your registered mobile phone nearby for OTP generation, and book your mid-week September slots for the smoothest travel experience.
Source: Official TTD Devasthanams Online Booking Portal
ttdevasthanams.ap.gov.in), keep your registered mobile phone nearby for OTP generation, and book your mid-week September slots for the smoothest travel experience.Source: Official TTD Devasthanams Online Booking Portal
QUICK READ
As the peak summer tax filing season intensifies, tax experts are reminding retirees that the legacy Forms 15G and 15H are gone. Seniors must now deploy the new consolidated Form 121 to preserve their monthly interest income
THE BREAKDOWN
- The New Standard: Under the updated Income Tax Rules 2026, Form 121 functions as a single, age-neutral self-declaration used to notify financial institutions not to execute automatic tax deductions when your final yearly tax liability is nil.
- The Raised Threshold: Thanks to recent structural changes, the bank-level TDS threshold for senior depositors has officially been doubled to ₹1,00,000.
- Automatic Exemption: Banks and post offices will no longer initiate automatic tax cuts on your fixed deposits unless your aggregate annual interest earnings cross this enhanced ₹1 lakh limit.
THE MESSAGE
Predictable cash flow is the foundation of a relaxed retirement. Even with the higher threshold, submitting Form 121 to your respective branches early in the cycle ensures that your interest earnings are credited entirely in full, keeping your funds liquid to beat lifestyle inflation.
Source: Income Tax Department - Form 121 Official Rules & Filing Guidelines
Source: Income Tax Department - Form 121 Official Rules & Filing Guidelines
