Psychics and clairvoyants have taken to scamming people online by claiming they can offer a solution for people’s problems in return for a fee.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch data revealed reports of spiritual scams have skyrocketed a whopping 300 per cent across the past three years, Daily Telegraph reported.
According to figures on the ACCC website, the scammers have secured $911,356 in the last three years.
Further statistics show women are mainly targeted compared to men, and the numbers of individuals targeted grow each year.
Psychics and clairvoyants have taken to scamming people online by claiming they can offer a solution for people’s problems in return for a fee (stock image)
According to figures on the ACCC website, the scammers secured $911,356 in the last three years
Daily Telegraph reported, Deakin University deputy director of cyber security Matthew Warren said there were a number of aspects to the increase and they were taking advantage of the new scams.
‘Scammers have realised there’s a huge variety of ways they can scam people out of money.’
Psychics and clairvoyant scammers approach by post, email, telephone or even face-to-face.
The dodgy scammers get creative by insisting they can provide the winning lottery number, a lucky charm, or the removal of bad luck as long as you provide them with the agreed fee.
When pay is refused, the psychics and clairvoyants will threaten to curse you or place a bad luck charm on you.
When pay is refused, the psychics and clairvoyants will threaten to curse you or place a bad luck charm on you (stock image)
These kinds of scams can also lead to your name and contact details being put onto a ‘victim list’ which will result in you receiving further scam approaches, the Scamwatch website says.
‘The psychic or clairvoyant may try to convince you that their insights are genuine by telling you something about yourself.
‘Ask yourself if they are telling you something that is general and could be true about anyone.
‘They may also tell you something about yourself that you mentioned previously or that they gathered from another source, such as personal details you posted on a social networking website.’
Psychics and clairvoyant scammers approach by post, email, telephone or even face-to-face (stock image)