Psychic Scammers
Psychic scammed grad student out of 2.5k to lift family curse - New York Post
Florida psychic accused of scamming veteran - Palm Beach Post
Psychic Who Scammed $1.5 Million From Victims Pleads Guilty - The CleveScene
You've seen the headlines. You've heard the stories. As soon as you see that sign for fortune telling or palm readings, you book it.
Here's why you shouldn't.
Remember that image of a parent scolding their child for misbehaving to go along with their friends? "You wouldn't jump off a cliff if your friends did, would you?" Well, you'd be surprised.
When it comes to making unwise decisions, blame can't be placed solely in one area. There are all kinds of factors you need to take into account.
With following your friends off a cliff, there are two primary factors:
Your friend was not-so-friendly and had ill intentions for you
You believed and followed
The same goes for those who are scammed by readers.
But wait, that's victim blaming. The person who scammed them is in the wrong. How can the victim be wrong?
Let me explain:
How scams attract vulnerable people
First, these people who are scammed ignore their intuition. It's always there, perking its head up and saying, "Hey, are you sure this is a good idea?" or "I don't know..."
If you ever walk into a situation where you know things feel iffy, that's your first sign to run. Sometimes, the only sign is if you choose to ignore that first impression.
Why would they not trust their intuition? For a few reasons:
As a society, we are groomed not to trust our instincts. We believe in persevering through hardship, even when our gut told us to get out at the beginning. We act in self-interest only when we're tired of being wronged, not when it's intuitively best.
When you've just lost a loved one, lost your job, got news of a divorce, etc., you're emotionally and spiritually vulnerable. This is when people finally decide to plead to their deities for help. They're desperate to change their situation. This leaves room for harm to come in.
As much as we live in a society that bases itself on logic and fact, we're very much afraid of the unknown. There's trepidation around curses and hexes; we don't know what they feel or look like, but that must explain my sudden lack of love/success/happiness in life.
So if we take shoving our instincts into the dirt since childhood and add it with extreme emotional/spiritual vulnerability and fear of the occult, we get a recipe for scams.
So, are there no such things as curses? I've heard about them before, just like miracles.
It's true, curses and hexes do exist. However, just because you just got dumped out of the blue by your partner doesn't mean you're hexed.
Just because you lost your job doesn't mean you have a curse on you.
Just because your grandfather didn't tie a stranger's shoelace that one time doesn't mean your family is doomed.
Curses are much more complicated and detailed than that.
If someone has the anger and hatred to curse you, you'll feel and see it with every fiber of your being. You'll know something is wrong, and things will go to shit. And that's when you talk to a spiritual figure that deals with curses and breaking them.
However, just because you're going through a spout of depression, which we all do from time to time, doesn't mean you're cursed.
Why wouldn't (insert god you personally worship) answer my prayers? Surely they'd let me know, right? Or my Guides or Angels would?
When you're happy, you're full of energy. Not only are you physically and emotionally upbeat, but you are spiritually as well.
This makes it easier to receive and send messages from your Guides, Angels, and even deities. Prayers are heard more easily and answered.
When you're depressed, your energy and personal vibration levels are low. You're sluggish and unable to do simple tasks.
If you're physically feeling like crap, how can you effectively send a prayer to someone? How can they hear you?
This is what happens: people pray when they're in need. They cry out for help during depression, anxiety, and stress. But the cries go unheard when all you're doing is whispering, not shouting with a high amount of energy.
So, what happens?
You're depressed and upset. You're praying for good news or a sign, and nothing. You walk down the street, see a sign for readings, and then you're told you've had a curse on you that can be removed for $100,000. You believe because it's some answer to your problem.
It's wrong, but it happened.
Finding guidance the right way
You want to know the worst part of scams? Innocent people, who need guidance in their lives, are now terrified of getting a reading from any other person ever again—even the credible, honest ones.
It's understandable, but it can be prevented by following some easy steps:
Do some research and soul searching
Find a reader that meshes with your personality, with a style you love
Set a reading when and where you're comfortable
Walk away with someone you can work on tangibly
If you figure out why you need the reading beyond "Is he cheating on me, when, where, and how," you'll get much more out of the experience.
If you look for someone who knows what they're talking about and works to give a quality reading, you'll mesh better with your reader and get more out of it.
If you take away the candles, tapestries, and robes and meet at a local coffee shop or mall, then you'll ground yourself more in reality and find security knowing there are other people around.
If you find a reader who can give you something to work on (i.e., spend an hour meditating or reconnecting with yourself), or even a recorded summary of your reading, you'll have something to look back on and start building upon. A lot of people walk away from a reading with nothing, and that can leave an uncertain, bad taste in your mouth.
I always give either a recorded video or a PDF summary of every reading I do, for my personal records and for my clients. I also include mantras, meditative exercises, and easy self-confidence-boosting activities; you never walk away not knowing what to do next.