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curse removal, cleansing scam

This scam involves convincing the mark that she and her valuables, including cash, are cursed and that the con artist, posing as a psychic, Tarot card reader, Gypsy, clairvoyant or the like has the power to cleanse the person and her money and jewelry, thereby lifting the curse. Modern con artists sometimes claim the problem is "negative energy" rather than a curse, which might appear too old-fashioned a term for people hip to the New Age.

Whenever a psychic claims to need your money or valuables for cleansing, she is preparing to take you to the cleaners. For example, Linda Marks claimed she was a Gypsy and could peer into the future. She liked to conjure snakes and scorpions out of chickens’ eggs and turn water blood-red. These parlor tricks would frighten gullible clients into believing that their lives were infected by evil spirits. The solution, she told them, was for them to give her all their money so she could pray over it and "cleanse" it of evil. They did, to the tune of about $2 million. Once she had their cash, the Gypsy and the money would disappear, as if by magic. Ms. Marks was arrested and convicted and was given four years in prison to perfect her art and repay the money she stole from her mostly elderly clients.

One psychic was arrested in Rocklin, California, who not only took money and jewelry for cleansing, but also took the clients shopping to buy items needed for the cleansing ritual (Campos 1999). Nothing too elaborate is needed for these rituals: some candles, some herbs. Burning sage might be nice for seducing the bereaved and bewildered.

Source Skeptics Encyclopedia


What measures should/could ' genuine Psychics' take to distinguish themselves fro such con artist?

Should consumers heed the "Buyer Beware" creed?

should psychics be allowed to open clinical practices (and charge clinical fees) and get nonprofit status under religious pretenses?

There is only one way - to do what most other businesses do to prove they are legitimate, and that is to create a guild, and have a guild mark. this guild mark would be copyright, so anybody displaying the guild mark without earning guild approval could be prosecuted for breach of copyright and fraudulent claims before they even fleece their first victim.

The guild would be responsible for ensuring that the bearer of the guild mark abides by an agreed code of practice.

This would require that the bearer charges only a reasonable fee, and has a pricing structure that is clearly set out, and after a primary consultation (charging a very modest consultation fee) will give their clients an estimate of the final bill before being formerly engaged.

It's really the only way - it is up to the genuine practitioners to clean up the business. If they don't, then they run the risk of being tarred with the same brush, and will suffer accordingly - particularly if official bodies start to take a harder line.

Psychics need to make a living some how but I think a legit psychic that has no problems pleasing their customers should have no problem waiting for payment until after they provide their service so there is more pressure to please the customer so they get paid

it is a very good point that has caused problems for politicians trying to force through legislation to outlaw that sort of thing.

like it or not, we now live in a multi-faith society (at least in UK and America), so one cannot discriminate between different faiths. Belief in spirits, fortune telling, and spells are articles of faith. If a law prohibits a shaman from charging a fee for driving out bad spirits, then it must also prohibit a church from charging a fee for a wedding ceremony. to allow one and not the other is to invite back the prejudices of the dark ages of the Inquisition

When it comes down to it - science cannot prove the existence of any kind of deity, let alone prove that holy scriptures are the work of a deity, and not made up by mad prophets (or by cynical leaders).

What science can prove is that a strong belief can affect a persons health and behavior(either for better or worse).

Therefore a court of law would have to determine whether or not the customer had received some form of service or benefit from the practitioner, and whether or not the practitioner had offered some form of guarantee that had not been fulfilled, or that their charges had been disproportionate.

Clever con artists make sure they stay within the law.

In Canada there is a guild for phone, and now online chat readers, and investigations showed that readers under the guild for the most part behaved. However a few were caught using scripted material, and slyly referring to another reader (off guild).

As an usher for a "Spiritualist Center" I saw plenty to demonstrate just how low people go to fleece believers.

Oh man.. Spiritual Conartists huh?

That last question is freaky! In some states, I think its already being done! (California for sure)

I met with a natural borne reader when I worked in a carnival. He offered no pretense of being in connection with any mystic source. Yet his readings were far better than the sketchy readers of medium sittings I have seen. The catchy thing about him is that he could read or write.

In Oregon a co-ed in the campus Troupe read cards at sorority mixers, and she was nailing people, and in a way that brought people social ease. She never implied being mystic.. though she rightful displayed a gift.

Con artist rely on a persons grief, or hopes. They are most effective against solo people, so if you do go to a psychic then have a friend sit in as well.

There was one Psychic that got trapped using info posted on facebook to enhance her accuracy. The psychic gave her an initial reading, then up saled to another reading, so the second reading was far more accurate. They only caught the woman because the victim (customer) shared her reading with her friend, who quickly recalled he facebook activity, Something so simple can get people fleeced.

Some Humans are born "Stupid" to believe that other human was born, better then them and now posses a power to see the future. If this people are so ignorant to believe that, then, let it be. I got many friends that go to psyche readers and they are like: "yes sir, She knows a lot" and I said, is because She studied and said the same to all her clients. She Just need your money.

Well there is two ways of looking at that isnt there? Sure, ruthless con artists who fleece their gullible victims for vast amounts of money (not pointing at you david cameron) are way out of line; but exactly what are psychics selling their clients?

Even if a genuine psychic / tarot reader sees something really bad ahead, they will lie or dress it up. because what they are really selling (and what the client really wants to buy) is hope and peace of mind.

Now those are things that all of us need in order to get through life, because lets face it - we don't live for ever, and most of us will never get what we need to make us happy. We will get older and poorer, and each day will bring yet another extra ache and pain as our bodies go downhill, until eventually the only light at the end of the tunnel is the release of Death.

Of course, if you feel depressed and forlorn with no hope in sight, you could go to your doctor - who will either prescribe some expensive placebo which doesn't really help you and has harmful side effects; or you could seek out a psychotherapist who will charge you large amounts of money for a series of sessions that may or may not help you.

If something works, it doesn't really matter why or how it works. The only real question here is how much is hope and peace of mind worth to you?

I heard insane stories how people who would actually fake themselves to others. One of them I heard was last year outside of vr.. the person decided to see a online psychic, no big deal. Anway the story goes this fake person was asking huge amounds of money for three readings or something like this. So the idiot give this person some money going on with the journey. Don't really know what happen next but the this person was a total idiot, didn't know he got scammed.

seriously bizzare about the cleansing scam, you could just do that on your own without anyone around. I just don't get it how people are these days. *sigh*

back in California a lady friend of mine went to a Psychic Faire and had her "Chakras Aligned" a few days later she went to a local Psychic/Alternative worker, and was "diagnosed" as having unaligned Chakras. So in theory it only took a few days for her aligned Chakras to fall out of alignment.. just think if a car mechanic could get away with that.

Every few years millions of people flock to ballot boxes and put their faith and their lives into the hands of monumental crooks. Barnum was right - theres one born every minute.

Actually it wasn't Barnum that coined that phrase, it was the plaintiff in the Cardiff Giant case that stated that. PT is known for his other quote, and slogan.. "Something for Everyone."

There are many legit psychics out there who charge minimally for their services. Its up to the person to go into looking for a psychic to do their research, unfortunately too many people go to a psychic in a desperate state of mind and will do and pay anything asked to get the help they think they need.

Its sad but its not a new phenomenon

In fact most people that go to psychics are looking to have preconceived notions affirmed, or they seek to be flattered. The reason Psychics claim to have "Mystic Abilities" to read cosmic sources, is because people want to believe that the universe (or "spirit realm") is related to, and concerned about them. I have personlly attended Psychic Faires, and I assure you that the majority of Psychics don't buy what they imply to clients.

curse removal

i have no problem with charging money for service offered.
the person paying has enterd into an agreement.
I dont see the problem?

Care to elaborate?

Simple.
1. No asking for money
2. No talking like a weirdo

Speaking of Weirdo Talking, The New Age scene is the most prolific example of Weird Talk, also known as Jargon.There is even infighting among New Age factions, each faction throwing the other faction under the bus in regards to the legitimacy of the others practice.

Here is an article that shows how proactive Canada is when it comes to confronting New Age Practices.

In some countries New Age, and Psychics services are considered a vice issue.


Op-Ed: Beware the New Age scam
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Vancouver - In the times of confusion, uncertainty for the future, enormous lies from mass media, politicians and religion, there are other people who “take over” the truth and herald it to the people. They are very close, they live next to and with us.
They say they are connected to the Universal Power, hence trying to entrench themselves conveniently and comfortably in their world when pushing away any conceivable source of criticism. They run workshops and explain their mission to share with others. They make us realize that we are traveling to higher dimensional realities. They align your magnetic fields and correct chakra’s fields for better wellbeing. They draw sacred geometry fields and explain the meaning of laylines that signify the best places on earth for you to live. They define your karma and do past life regression as if this was the most important thing for people’s future. They use the newest technology to draw your colours of chakras and provide the interpretation of what to do to change the significant appearance of blue in the region of your pelvis into orange-red type of thing.
If there’s nothing revealing to say, they can go like this, “…do what you love to do”. You can finally learn that your kid is endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable features that made the kid become “indigo child”. It’s cool to say to your friends or family that your kid is of indigo series, eh? Something really special and not for everyone.
They know, feel and perceive better than the rest of the population, otherwise they say “they are aware” and they want to share it with us. They have known the mechanisms the Universe works and see it all makes sense and nothing ever happens for a reason.
What do they want? If the answer is somehow obscured in the first moment, it means that they want money. They want your money when taking advantage of your confusion exactly the way the Catholic Church wants your money for people’s fear of afterlife.
There are numerous places where these people run their workshops and Vancouver is probably on a rising curve much above the level comparing with the rest of Canada when it comes to getting any service of that very sort.
Some time ago I went to a workshop called “Quantum Healing”. I just wanted to know what these two words had in common in this area of someone’s activity - quantum and healing. Maybe that was my sick curiosity, maybe I did it when following someone else’s advice or maybe I just wanted to do a thing that many of us sometimes do “just for the heck of it”. There was an information session in one of those schools of mystic arts in the area of Greater Vancouver and the event was sort of an “open house” session. The info session was presented by a man who came to Vancouver from Kelowna, BC. But one of the participants asked a simple question, “where did you come from?’, and he answered, “I came from the planet closest to the Sun”. OooooK, I said to myself but was still waiting for the explanation of quantum thing. After a while I learned that him, when sharing a perspective of hope, information on accelerated awakening, he facilitated 5 day interactions called EarthStar Project, Earth Star Ascension Project and Project Synthesis. In a distributed leaflet (that I still have when quoting these cosmic terms, names and expressions!) he says:
"I have brought forth technologies of light, sound and vibration. Technologies like the earthstar sound chamber, photonic red/infrared light pads, viral aportation devices, prosperity geometry, divine geometry, star compass geometry, jewellery for mental clarity, sound enhancement devices, coded music for awakening. The newest is an enhanced subtle energy device for scanning and neutralizing impedence to wellbeing (vibrascan 1100). Many new technologies are appearing on planet Earth, there intent is the quickening of wellbeing (ascension). "
Then there’s a short list of what his skills are and finally he wishes…
"…you success. I wish you peace. I wish that you will know the value of your being IN JOY... OH YES I WAS AWARDED A CERTIFICATE AS SCIENTIST OF JOY.” "A scientist of joy???...., certified???..., by who???... hellooo…!!!
Then there’s a section for the workshop fees, for instance Personal Wellbeing analysis ($150/hour – 4 hrs minimum). Another one, EarthStar Project: genetic heralding, implants, rapid healing, divine mind, flames of glory and (as they always say) so much more, for a simple fee of only $300.
Well, that was some time ago. If this sounds obsolete, we can find something new now, when browsing other services: EMF Balancing Technique. From certain websites it’s not known what EMF is but we learn that it is…
"…healing technique worldwide in an effort to expand and enhance the consciousness of humanity and our spiritual evolution. More and more people are turning to EMF Balancing Technique® to revitalize their mind, body, and spirit... a new way for us all to enhance our lives. "
Any takers to get on EMF, life-changing energy technique?

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/297560#ixzz2Y6LsBe3X

Well Dabbler, entertaining as always, lol.

I spent years with Spiritualists. The problem in most readings whether they be voice vibration, psychometry and things like that is fixing something to time. I was sort of a slight believer/skeptic if that makes sense. Most I knew only asked for donations or read for free. Tarot is something else. The cards mean things and if you memorize it all and know all the nuances you can do a reading. You don't have to claim any psychic ability. They say if the person is somewhat psychic that adds to it and that of course is only opinion. Tarot is like doing a pendulum...iffy at best but interesting. Although if you learn what all the cards mean and what they mean mixed with others it is not even close to being random as far as the layout itself. Therefore, not comparable really to the other that I mentioned. It really depends on one's belief system but in the true Spiritualist movement asking for lots of money is considered an abuse of power. Tarot is one thing and readings another. Psychics are not always correct and where I was they stated maybe 80 percent of the time with a good one. Anyone stating anything more than that were considered a fraud. They can't help what the press says or people who have had readings Like anyone else, if they are pretty accurate, they are sought after. Their time needs to be paid for so they can make a living somehow. This is my opinion though. If they end up connected to the entertainment field their accuracy is going to go down or be nil because psychics just cannot read on demand like that. That is why Silvia Brown is getting into trouble. I won't say she is a fake but her ways do not fit my beliefs of how a real psychic should act. (very judgmental I know)

The three Ds as they called them were anathema where I went. You never give information on death, disease or disasters. They stood by that. You cannot pin most things as I stated in time and sometimes these are just projections of things that could happen if things keep going in a certain direction but it doesn't mean they will. So you don't or shouldn't speak on those terms. This is the way of most of it.

I could do readings but I don't because I know I can be wrong. Since there are odds against being right all the time or even interpreting things correctly, I don't do it. I have taken tarot and palmistry but eh, too much work for me...grins. Palmistry is fascinating but I don't know if all who give readings are taught to read but just do it if you know what I mean. There is a science behind it and it is very detailed. I don't think most use it at all but just form their own ideas about what things mean for their own use and that is making money. That was never my aim at all and there are many who believe in what they do. As for a Gypsy, from my researches they don't believe in any of the psychic stuff at all, they do it to make money. No offense to anyone who is related. That is a generic term anyway and not going to say any kind. Just what I have read from those who are a part of that group. So basically buyer beware.

Sinistra, How do you feel about New Age/Psychics toting themselves as clinical alternatives to potential clients? Should they be able to advertise their services if they are unable to substantially support their claims?

What do you say to a person that abandons clinical medical procedures, or licensed/insured/accredited practices? How do you feel about those in the psychic trade that lure people into pricey weekend seminars that promise to "Open people to their psychic self"?

Just because science cant explain what we do, you call it being fleeced.

How can I simplify this for you…….

Ok a placebo happens to work with colds to cancer and normally more than the scientific medication or procedures, this effect alone shows when someone believes the power of our minds is much better.
So our new age help may not be understood by yourself or science yet, however it works and often better.

I run such a business and so has my family for some time ;-)

Guild marks? I dunno.

Doctors and lawyers are a guild, a very powerful guild, and that hasn't cleaned them up one bit.

Banking and religion are two of the biggest scams that fleece people, and they are legal and protected.

And you can become "legal" in many cases by simply paying a fee (tax) to the appropriate government authority, and that's a racket of another type.