21
Mar
2014
By Calvin at 10:27 GMT, 10 years ago
You might want to make a cup of tea....
During my down time from this website I’m in the habit of checking in on some of my favourite websites, and one of these is the James Randi Educational Institute.
Now where am I going with this?
Well, if you visit Think Jessica, a charity and website devoted to making people aware of the danger and financial implications caused by postal and telephone scams, you’ll learn that some vulnerable people (particularly the elderly) have been taken advantage of by people purporting to be able to look into their future. They ring you up or send you letters and try to convince you that they’re your friend and have an important message for you and will help you make decisions etc based on their readings of your future. Of course they charge you money for these readings and some elderly people in particular have lost an awful lot of money.
And Action Fraud says this about Clairvoyant Scams:
Psychic and clairvoyant scams happen when a fraudster approaches you to tell you they have seen something either wonderful or terrible in your future. They ask for money in order to provide a full report about it.
The apparently psychic or clairvoyant fraudsters approach their victims by email, post, telephone call or even face-to-face. They may tell you that you are in some kind of trouble, but can offer a solution in return for payment. They may claim to be able to give you winning lottery numbers, or offer to remove a curse. The fraudsters tend to ask for an administration fee for their services.
Fraud has been committed if money has been lost.
If fraud has been committed, report it to Action Fraud
An example of so-called clairvoyance - uncovered
To demonstrate how researched some so-called clairvoyants can be please follow this link to The Best Hot Reading I’ve Ever Had written by Dr. Karen Stollznow.
Dr Stollznow is a linguist, author, sceptical paranormal investigator and a research fellow for the James Randi Foundation. You can follow Karen on Twitter here
Research into the paranormal
The James Randi Foundation is committed to providing reliable information about paranormal claims and it both supports and conducts original research into such claims.
Challengingly the Foundation offers a one-million-dollar prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event.
To date, no one has passed the preliminary tests.
Click here to see the application.
Click here to see the current $1 million statement which shows the current amount in their prize account.
The scammed are not the only victims
And finally: Remember that the vulnerable person isn’t the only victim of these scams as their children and relatives often have to pick up the pieces and suffer a great deal of agonising stress as a result. A visit to Think Jessica will confirm this in spades. So, if an elderly relative of yours starts to receive piles of mail or a high volume of telephone calls or perhaps tells you about a new friend who can read their future, please investigate
James Randi Educational Institute: http://www.randi.org/site/
Think Jessica: http://www.thinkjessica.com/main.htm
Action Fraud: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud
Telephone Call Blocker: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/directory/52/telephone-call-blocking-devices-and-services/
