How online fortune tellers cheat you and suck your money

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-13 00:26

In the age of high technologies, predictors and spellcasters have moved to the Internet, but they have not ceased to be charlatans.

This article is part of the "" project. In it, we declare war on everything that prevents people from living and becoming better: breaking laws, believing in nonsense, deceit and fraud. If you've come across a similar experience, share your stories in the comments.

How psychics get rid of damage and money

Some readers open this text with the thought: "Who believes in fortune-tellers?" 55% of Russians, in short. 48% consider damage and the evil eye to be real. Every tenth inhabitant of the country consulted a fortune-teller or astrologer. Some then went to the police.

The Muscovite found the fortuneteller's account via Instagram and asked to solve the problems in the family. She agreed to remove the curse for 200 thousand and disappeared with the money. And by the way, she didn't even try to get rid of the damage, she just disappeared. The clairvoyant lured out more than 1.3 million from a resident of Novokuibyshevsk. The victim took four credits for the services of the medium. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, an Internet healer diagnosed a client with a serious illness and saved her from 240 thousand rubles.

A very active supply also speaks of high demand. The Internet is full of people who want to open your cash flow, pump you into a profession without refresher courses, attract a soul mate, and so on. This is not counting traditional fortune telling, removal of damage and love spell, conspiracies. These are all great ways to get the money out of you.

If you are satisfied with the result, you will bring new clients to the fortuneteller. And if the rituals do not work, then these are the higher forces against, because the medium is only a conductor. Finally, the results of some magical actions are simply impossible to verify. You will not be able to see if the psychic has removed the celibacy crown from you, and if it has taken off, then where are you going, suddenly he is expensive.

How is the evil eye diagnosed by avatar

It may seem that only internet fortune tellers and mediums are dangerous. This is not true. It's just that the Internet has reduced the distance between scammers and victims. If earlier seekers had to ask acquaintances in order to find a psychic, now it is enough to write a question in a more or less popular group. Those who sympathize will immediately throw in options. Fortune-tellers will also come to the post using keywords to offer their services.

It won't be so easy to fight back. Online magicians know how to be persistent. For example, they themselves write on the social network to potential victims and intimidate with the evil eye. Most send, but some agree. Moreover, it is not necessary to search for pain points of victims for a long time - for the majority it is money, love and health, or even all at once.

Sometimes the scheme is even simpler. You write in some community that, for example, you are looking for a doctor. And then a character appears in your PM who says that doctors will not help, this is a curse that will be removed from you for just a few thousand rubles.

And if you are even a little interested in the topic, then contextual advertising with the services of mediums and magicians will haunt you for a long time. For skeptics with a stable psyche, this is an excuse to have fun. But people in difficult life situations cannot always think sensibly, which is what charlatans use.

Why there is no reason to believe fortune-tellers

Before someone goes to the comments to scribble angry messages about how they turned to the fortuneteller and she told the whole truth, let's think together based on facts. Personal experience is unreliable.

From 1996 to 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation was willing to pay out a $ 1 million reward to anyone who proved their psychic abilities. Randy himself was ready to reward for proven miracles since 1964. During this time, not a single person was able to pick up the award.

In 2015, the Harry Houdini Prize was established in Russia. Once again, there was no one to give a million rubles. Participants of the show "Battle of Psychics" also suffered a fiasco.

Evidence that would make skeptics doubt and admit that at least some of the fortune-tellers have superpowers simply does not exist. For example, in terms of the ratio of fulfilled and unfulfilled predictions and clarity of formulations, Jules Verne probably bypasses Nostradamus and Wang. Only they are for some reason considered soothsayers, and Verne is a science fiction writer.

I decided to write an article that all fortune-tellers are charlatans. Therefore, I found the first one that came across an ad and made an appointment. It was either free, or for 200 rubles. That is, the conditions were such that one could enter out of curiosity. The fortune teller lived in an ordinary apartment building.

Before the visit, I downloaded and printed a photo of a guy I didn't know from a social network. The psychic said that we have been together for a year, but there were problems. From the first minutes she understood: she loves. But there is a rival - my friend, who wants to take the guy away. She even described her somehow, and I nodded, imitating recognition. The fortune-teller said that she put a spell on me, so everything is not going well in the relationship. And to make it clear, she rolled a rotten testicle over me and broke it. I don't know where she keeps them. She promised to fix everything for relatively little money. But the amount was already with three zeros.

How people get hooked

It would seem that one can only look at the activities of fortune-tellers with skepticism. But some people do believe them. Usually, they use personal experience and the following statements as evidence.

The fortune-teller knows my past, which means she doesn't lie about the future

Archimedes also said: "Give me the maiden name of his mother, and I will turn the Earth." Okay, he didn't say so, but it is enough to leave at least a small information trail on the Internet so that you can learn a lot about you.

You've seen these posts with jokes on Instagram, where a girl finds out about her boyfriend's infidelity, as if she is a seventh generation witch, although a little logic is enough for this.

I myself once found all the data about a guy I liked, just sorting through the accounts of girls from his university on VKontakte. Sounds crazy, but it took no more than half an hour to find out who he was dating, how serious they were, and some related information. And believe me, if I made money on it, then I would also receive sensational details of his past.

Predictors have a higher motivation: here we are not talking about a broken heart, but about big money. So they can quite afford to do research work. Some even hire professionals. A fortune teller from Vladivostok, for example, hired a man to hack into the mailboxes of her potential clients.

But even without this, psychics have tools in their arsenal to extract information from you.

Ilya Anischenko An expert in lies, emotions and sign language.

Fortune-tellers are experts in reading a person, his facial expressions and gestures, his behavior. They quickly "scan" the client, his condition. Next comes the probing of all problematic topics, depending on the age and gender of the person. Most often these are women who have problems in their personal or family life. And here beautiful phrases begin: “I see problems”, “I see that he doesn't love you,” and so on.

Then the fortune-teller monitors the reaction to her phrases, understands which topic she has hooked on, and digs further. The client helps in this in every possible way, he tells everything himself, thinking that the fortune-teller magically understood everything. So the psychic makes the client believe him: since he so quickly figured out what the problem is, it means that he will correctly tell what awaits in the future.

The fortune teller talked about things that only I know about

Guessing a person's past is not that difficult. As a rule, psychics are good psychologists. Some even have specialized education. Moreover, vague wording works into their hands. You yourself will fill the ambiguities with secret events from your past.

Ilya Anischenko

All fortune-tellers and psychics speak in a generalized language without any specifics. Take any horoscope and swap the signs of the zodiac in it. Everyone who believes in him will find something of his own in him. He thinks out, conjectures, believes. At the same time, no one pays attention to what the horoscope does not fall into, everyone admires what it falls into.

Let's say a medium says that the evil eye is on you, because of which you are doomed to misfortune for many years. You picked it up by accident: a rival (someone's) prepared a special potion, and you drank it by mistake. And what, you do not remember a single drink consumed at a party by a person who had a rival?

Moreover, you will find iron proofs of this theory. Because it is nice to take responsibility for all the failures and become a part of something mystical. But admitting yourself fooled is not at all.

Predictions do come true

Several factors converge here.

1. Confidence in the inevitability of events changes your behavior

The fortune-teller confidently says that you will not work out with your current partner, but the next one will be wonderful. And now you stop doing something in your current relationship and part calmly, without suffering. But for the next you will hold on with your teeth, because the psychic said that they are worth it. After all, happiness is a very subjective feeling.

2. You only remember what came true

Some people remember how 15 years ago a fortune teller approached them on the street and "told the whole truth, everything came true." Just remember literally what was said is almost impossible. That is why Internet mediums will take you to an oral conversation: what you write can be double-checked. In addition, in a personal conversation, albeit through a webcam, it is easier to count your reactions in order to change the readings in time.

3. The course of events is easy to predict

Usually predictions are preceded by a long conversation. The fortune teller talks about your past not only to impress and convince you that she is not a charlatan. She needs to find two loopholes in your story that will allow:

1. Give "correct" predictions.
2. Find a reason for additional paid services: removing the evil eye or selling amulets.

Given that she knows your whole life, just replace the word "prediction" with "forecast" and the situation will clear up.

Let's say someone does not pay on a micro-loan, which he took on the security of an apartment. I predict a long road for him and misfortune in his personal life, and if he is not lucky, then the state house. The crown of financial illiteracy is clearly hanging over the person. This prediction is free, by the way.

The beloved finally returned, as the fortune-teller said? People in general are strange and unpredictable creatures, sometimes they return. And even if you don't really want it.

Why do people believe fortune-tellers

Belief in evil eye, corruption and magic amulets lies on three whales.

Desire to find someone to blame

Unfortunately, there is no boomerang law. It's nice to think that bad things happen to a person, because he deserves it. But you are good, and nothing disgusting will happen to you. This is why people are often willing to judge the victim, not the perpetrator.

Nobody is safe from troubles. Therefore, when something terrible happens, and you do not understand why, information about the evil eye or damage falls on fertile ground. Indeed, it is easier to believe in a love spell than in the sincere love of a person you like for someone you hate. Or to blame an unpleasant old woman from a nearby entrance for a serious illness of a child. Although some things just happen, and it would be worth accepting.

Desire to shift responsibility

And there are times when there is no doubt who is to blame for your failures. It is you. But I don’t want to admit it, nor do I want to change anything. Corruption is a great way to shift responsibility here. Let's say your liver hurts not because every Friday you follow the precepts of the lyric hero of the song Semyon Slepakov, but because of the intrigues of envious people. And to pay off debts, you do not need to change jobs and look for orders for the weekend. You will get rich better through special meditation. (Spoiler alert: no, you won't get rich.)

Ilya Anischenko

People don't want to hear about their problems and solve them. They like to hear pleasant things, to shift responsibility to another person. Emotionally strong and stable people do not go to fortune-tellers. They are confident in what is happening to them, they know how to manage themselves and their future. Fortune-tellers are approached by those who are not able to solve their problems on their own. Who wants to avoid the truth, cover it up with hope.

The desire to gain confidence

There are no simple answers to complex life questions. Quitting or ending a relationship isn't easy. When rational reasoning stops working, mystical promises come to the rescue.

If the psychic says that the next relationship will be successful, it will be easier to survive the divorce. The promise of financial success will force you to take a risk and wager money at an online casino. These decisions will not always be correct. But a person who accepts them, at every stage, feels that he is right, because he believes that events are developing correctly.

Anna Tsyapalo Psychologist.

We live in constant uncertainty. The world is changing rapidly: professions become obsolete, loved ones leave this life, loved ones become unloved. Nothing seems to be predictable. Uncertainty breeds fear and anxiety. In order to somehow calm down, to bring clarity to their lives, people turn to a fortuneteller for advice. After all, it is known that psychologically it is much more comfortable to know what awaits you (even if it is a negative scenario) than to live in frightening uncertainty.

Making decisions is always a big responsibility. In a situation with a fortune-teller, this responsibility is shifted to her.

The desire to constantly consult with psychics can develop into a painful addiction.

Why belief in psychics is dangerous

It would seem that a person is free to spend his money as he pleases. I would like to give him three monthly salaries to expand the cash flow, instead of changing jobs - let him spend. He wants to take money to a psychic in order to bewitch a guy who has fallen out of love - why not? That's why.

Fortune-tellers will tell you what you want to hear and what will allow you to siphon more money from you.

It doesn't solve the problem. There are effective ways to deal with difficulties - so simple that people don't like to use them. For example, get training and find another job if the current one pays little. Visit a psychologist, understand yourself and let go of destructive relationships if marriage is no longer pleasing. Understand that a series of failures is caused by a series of wrong actions, and not by the evil eye.

Ilya Anischenko

Such specialists are very good manipulators. They know what and how to say correctly, at what moment to intimidate in order to get more money. People come to such people not for a solution to a problem, but for pity, lies, and hope. What they skillfully use.

Some turn to sorcerers and psychics and lose precious time, which would literally save their lives.

So, the search and rescue squad "Liza Alert" has repeatedly urged people not to waste time on fortune-tellers when people are missing. None of them ever helped. But they are able to start on the wrong track, while when searching for a person, every hour is important.

People who visit a psychic instead of a doctor run the risk of starting the disease and dying. It's even worse when they do the same with children who have no choice at all. So the passion for predictions cannot be called harmless: losses are far from limited to money.

If you have problems, it is much more useful, safer and more economical to visit a psychologist. He will not give empty promises with which you can deceive yourself, unlike mediums. But it will help you learn to take responsibility for your well-being.