By Jeffry R. Palmer Ph.D.

There are many individuals today claiming to have psychic abilities. Some have made quite lucrative careers out of these claims. But are they real? Can they truly see the future? Do they actually have the ability to speak to the dead, foretell future events, and recount past lives? I believe that it is almost impossible to predict the future of another person. It is much easier to predict your own future; after all, it’s your life; who could ever know more about it than you? As far as speaking to speaking to the dead and recounting past lives, well, I’ll keep an open mind about such things, but my personal hunch is that most people claiming to have these abilities are less than genuine.

Many people claiming to be psychics are, in fact, frauds. But the same can be said about many doctors, lawyers, politicians, salesmen, or people in any other profession. One of the problems with determining which psychics are genuine and which are not is that there are no definitive guidelines for measurement. There are no professional policies or standardized practices to adhere to. There is no established governing body to report fraudulent psychics to.

Unlike other professions that have regulatory or licensing protocols to follow, there are no such standards for psychics. Anyone can call themselves a psychic and begin practicing professionally.

Fortunately, there are some ways to determine whether a psychic may be misrepresenting themselves. A professional psychic relies heavily on reputation. A psychic with a bad reputation soon becomes a former psychic looking for a career change. If you are considering paying for the services of a psychic, ask for references and testimonials of satisfied clients. If a psychic is reluctant to provide such information, it may be wise to search elsewhere for psychic services.

The best regulation of the psychic industry is word-of-mouth advertising. Frauds and con artists gain a bad reputation very quickly these days. A psychic with confidence in their abilities will have no problem with providing this information. Do your homework, and ask others who are interested in psychics who they would recommend.

One thing to watch out for is anyone, psychic or not, who tries to use fear, intimidation, dis-empowerment, uncertainty, doubt, or any of a range of similar tactics to get you to hand over your power and fork over your hard-earned money.

One of the oldest scams around is for a fortune-teller, or con artist claiming to be a fortune teller, to tell you that you are under a curse of some sort, that “evil spirits,” “bad mojo,” or some other type of curse is causing whatever sort of problem you may be having. This, of course, leads to being asked for money, usually being asked for money several times as part of an ongoing “treatment” to rid you of your horrible curses. The scammers try to convince you that they can fix your problems, exorcise demons, and remove a curse, but it will take more time, more readings, and, of course, more money. This turns into a kind of blackmail, with you acting as a sort of willing victim. Beware of this scenario. If you feel you are being conned, then you probably are.

Trust your own intuition in these cases and back out of this situation gracefully. You will be amazed at the change in the con artist’s attitude when they realize that you are no longer willing to hand over your money. Be strong and trust yourself to do the right thing. Most of this is plain common sense, but many times, especially when people are under a lot of stress or in a vulnerable state, plain sense just isn’t very common.

© 2005 Jeffrey R. Palmer Ph.D., updated January 2021.

About the Author:  Jeffry R. Palmer is the well-known author of several books on metaphysics, paranormal phenomena, and psychic development. Personal psychic readings by Mr. Palmer are available through Psychic Clairvoyant Readings website. These psychic readings are kept in strict confidence, cover all aspects of life, are extremely accurate, detailed, and are very simple to purchase. Mr. Palmer even offers a 100% money-back guarantee to clients if they aren’t completely satisfied with their readings. Source:  Ezine Articles (dead link)

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