Maybe they can share a cell with Miss Cleo.

Wasn't this an episode of Law and Order CI a few years back? Except their was a murder and money, not just money.

The headline for this article is priceless. Well played.

if you go to a fortune teller NOT just for the novelty aspect..... I think you deserve it when you get scammed even more!

At first I thought this was about the fortune tellers cursing at the customers, not cursing the customers.

You should go to a psychologist. These can listen to your problems, too. However, they can also suggest a solution :)

Some people believe in the Catholic church, and they may truly feel that a St. Christopher medallion could bring them good fortune in life. If they chose to pay $750 for said medal, could it be considered fraud since there is no scientific proof that it brings the owner good fortune?

@B: He, he! Good one.

Wow, I can't imagine giving away thousands of dollars for "psychic protection services"...Spitzer's in, though.

If you're gullible enough to even go to a fortune teller, then maybe they're really not at fault, they are after all doing their job.

Add to that: Talk to your dead realtives with the use of special candles/herbs you need to pay for. I just posted about this on i09.

@KenSPT: 750$ ? Is it 20k gold? I mean I saw medallions from metal for 3-6$ ... If its from precious metal, you can consider it as a long term investment.

If economy crashes, you can rely on your jewellery to bail you out of a tight spot.

@KenSPT: That was the same thing I was thinking. I remember growing up with the fear of a curse by satan on me if I didn't give 10% of my money to the church among other things I had to commit myself for the church out of fear of comdenation. As a kid that scared the jebus out of me. I guess if you think about it that is not too far away from what these folks did minus the tax exempt status of course.

@KenSPT:
saint christopher has been knocked off the active list...he can no longer protect you....i agree with your thoughts.......

@ChChChacos: I only half agree with you. If you consider psychic phenomenon as a "belief system", then people are just as gullible for believing in your major religion of choice.

It's not wrong that people want something "sure" to believe in in an "unsure" world, but the willingness of others to exploit that belief for cash is still wrong.

@HOP: NFW, saints can be benched?

@chouchou: and charge you a whole lot more for it too.

@plustax: Yes, dependent on whether they actually existed as a person. If there's no historical reference, they're marked as a legend and benched.

[www.catholic.org]

We all know that curses can only be removed by paying a divorce lawyer.

@sohmc: Not in these cases ;)

Rules to live by, #324:

Never trust a psychic with an answering machine.

Wow, I live a mile away from there. I didn't think anybody was that stupid to fall for these clowns.

Two words. Stupid people.

@KenSPT: True. "Psychics" often play the religious card, like Sylvia Browne. It's totally a matter of faith, since they keep babbling you can't disprove them. But a faith that asks for your money is nothing good. Better just keep to your regular god and pray to him in your bedroom.

...maybe Christian Psychics should read what the bible thinks of diviners...

PS: That said, I can't pity the idiots that got fooled by this fraud. COME ON!

Naperville? I thought you guys knew better.

@KenSPT: That's why you need an accompanying Infant Jesus of Prague medallion.

Wait... I can pay to get rid of my curse?

@Pro-Pain: "Two words. Stupid people."

I sure hope you're not a churchgoer. That would make you a hypocrite.

So I am not a werewolf? OMG I am so relieved!!! Now I dont have to eat people anymore :p

Its people like this that give humans with actual talent a bad name.
Scamming has been around and the people that are for real are the ones that have to wear the label that the scammers create.

If this isn't a case of Stupid Consumer, I don't know what is. Idiots deserve what they get (or get taken for).

The only time I went to one of these was the first time I visited NYC.

The sign outside said "$5 palm reading special" which is what I wanted. The woman lists off a few options and prices including the $20 palm reading... But the sign says $5 I tell her. That is only on Sundays she replies... So being much younger at the time, I went for the $20 reading.

She throws out a bunch of vague educated guess fortunes like "Your true love is very far away", obviously I looked like a tourist at the time so that was a very safe bet.

Then at the end she tells me that I have this curse against me that has been following me around and if I work with her, and give her $5,000, she will help me...
I laughed out loud and said "are you crazy, I don't even have $50?!?!?" Then she asks how much I could afford.

I was able to talk her down to $4,500. Just kidding.

There's a place near where I live in Greenpoint and I'm always tempted to go in just for fun, but I'm afraid that they'll try to sucker me into paying for more than just a $5 palm read. Not that I think I'll fall for it, but I would hate the awkwardness of being like, "No deal, weirdy." I kind of...don't feel so sorry for this kind of gullibility, but I can imagine feeling sorry for these people if they were just super passive-aggressive. Yikes.

Hah! My fortune teller told me you were going to post this. I knew she was worth the money!

And just how are these people different from business consultants ?

@Snarkysnake: More neon, basically.

I predict that you will go to jail and spend many days brooding over what has been argued above! I predict that you will attempt an appeal based on those grounds and be denied! I predict that you will not enjoy the lunchtime meal of a cheese sandwich and fruit juice!

@se7a7n7:
$4500??? Isn't that what the New York Mayor paid for sexual services? Maybe they are one in the same...
Anyways, I don't see it as fraud. If you are that dumb to fall for that scam then power to the psychics. They aren't coming to you, you are going to them. If they can give you a sales pitch that makes you buy their "product" , there is nothing wrong with that.

@MercuryPDX: The bar isn't all that high, though. Even Buddha is a Christian saint. Seriously. St. Josaphat is what he's known by in the Catholic Encyclopedia. Josaphat is a Latinized garbling of the name "Bodhisattva."

Who cares about the crime committed by the psychic... I think it's the people that believed they were cursed that should be fined. Seriously. Dee Dee Dee.

Psychics serve a purpose... they help disempower the foolish, a force of social and economic natural selection.

it was explicitly a "keep them talking any way you can" business.

Isn't that exactly the same idea of phone sex?

I could have sworn that 60 Minutes or HBO or someone did a report/documentary on this last year. Typical scammage. "Fortune Tellers" have been doing this for many, many years.