A psychic or clairvoyant scam can come to you in many ways: through the post, in an email, by a telephone call or even face-to-face. There are a few different versions, but all of the scammers want to trick you into giving them your money.
Generally, a psychic or clairvoyant scam will claim to know that you are in some sort of trouble and offer a solution. This ‘solution’ could be some winning lottery numbers, a lucky charm or the removal of a ‘curse’ or ‘jinx’. The scammer will tell you that they will help you in return for a fee.
These kinds of scams can also result in you being approached by lottery scams (shortly after the psychic has sent you a list of winning lottery numbers, you receive a letter telling you that you’ve just won a lottery you’ve never heard of and do not remember entering).
Scammers may also try and talk you into buying their ‘secret of wealth’ or other plans or ‘insights’ that they claim will bring you good fortune and money. The scammers make money by charging you to claim your lucky charm or secret of wealth, and sending you a worthless item in return, or nothing at all.
You receive an email or letter out of the blue from somebody claiming to be a psychic or clairvoyant.
This person claims to have some sort of special insight into you.
The person claims you have been cursed or jinxed (they may offer to remove this curse or jinx themselves or give you the name of someone else who can do so).
You may be offered a good luck charm, the secret to enormous wealth, magic potions or winning lottery numbers.
You might be asked to pay a small administration fee to collect your charm, potion or lottery numbers.
ALWAYS get independent advice if an offer involves significant money, time or commitment.
Remember there are no get-rich-quick schemes: the only people who make money are the scammers.
Do not agree to offers or deals straight away: tell the person that you are not interested or that you want to get some independent advice before making a decision.
NEVER send money, or give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust.
Do not give out your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source.
Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam): delete them.
Do not click on any links in a spam email, or open any files attached to them.
Never call a telephone number that you see in a spam email.
NEVER reply to a spam email (even to unsubscribe).
As well as following these specific tips, find out how to protect yourself from all sorts of other scams.
You should ask yourself: what evidence is there to support the claims made by the psychic or clairvoyant? You should also question why the psychic or clairvoyant is telling you that you have bad luck or are cursed—they may be trying to scam you. It’s better not to respond to offers like these.
Seek independent advice from an accountant or solicitor if a significant amount of time, money or commitment is involved. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account details to ANYBODY you are not completely sure about.
There are lots of psychic and clairvoyant scams floating around, all using different names, so always check with your local office of fair trading to see if they have any warnings to pass on.
Remember, the psychic or clairvoyant may try to convince you that they are genuine by telling you something about yourself. Remember to ask yourself whether what they are telling you is something that is vague or general (and could therefore be true about anyone). And don’t forget that they may also tell you something about yourself that you mentioned previously or they got from another source, in an attempt to convince you of their ‘powers’.
If you still want to engage the services of a psychic or clairvoyant, be sure that you know what the total cost of anything you order will be, and what exactly you will be getting. Also, find out if there are any conditions or ongoing costs involved, and how you can contact the psychic or clairvoyant if you are not happy with their services.
If you are contacted by a psychic or clairvoyant offering you mystical secrets to wealth, health and luck, be very wary. Do not be fooled by fantastic claims and promises.
Never send any money, credit card or other personal details to these scammers. Responding for any reason only indicates you're interested and you could end up with many more potential scam letters and emails in the future.
If you have been approached or sent money to a psychic or clairvoyant that you think is a scammer you should report it through the SCAMwatch website. You should also consider warning your friends and family about the scammer.
Scams that exploit your romantic or compassionate side through expensive dating services, or false profiles used to exploit you for money or steal your identity.
Spam emails, SMS or MMS usually offer free goods or ‘prizes’, very cheap products or promises of wealth. Responding to spam messages can result problems for you computer and your bank account.