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Top 10 Signs Your Psychic Might Be a Fraud

Alanna Kali
Top 10 Signs Your Psychic Might Be a Fraud
Seeing a psychic can be a wonderfully empowering experience that helps reframe your current situation and give you perspective on what is to come.

Unfortunately, as in all lines of work, there are scam artists out to deceive others. Some unscrupulous people will take advantage of those in a vulnerable position, posing as psychics to gain money, attention, and even fame.

However, a few bad apples shouldn’t spoil the bunch. There are plenty of genuine, first-rate psychics offering their services — you just need to know what to avoid to find them. By noticing the following red flags, you will discern when a psychic is a fake and learn to spot the frauds from the real thing.

If the psychic you're consulting exhibits any of these signs, it's time to look elsewhere for guidance.


1. They Use Fear Against You

Since they don’t have genuine psychic abilities, sham psychics often resort to fear-mongering. If a psychic starts talking about a great misfortune that will happen to you if you don’t follow their directions, this is a sure sign they are exploiting your fears.

Life has hard times, but a genuine psychic will not try to scare you about what may lay ahead on your path. Instead, an authentic psychic will help you feel more confident in overcoming challenges coming your way. If the future seems bleak and pessimistic, chances are this is a psychic fraud hoping to con you into giving them more money to change your future outlook.

Ultimately, you are in control of your destiny. You don’t need to take on the fear-based thinking of another. 

2. They Talk with Vagueness and Confusion

When a psychic is only saying general things such as “There’s a good change coming your way” or “Soon you’ll increase your financial situation,” they are probably a sham reader. This is also true if they give you too much information and talk quickly without allowing you time to process it. This method is done to hope something lands so that you remember only that part of the reading.

A genuine psychic will talk slowly, giving you time to absorb what they are saying and ask questions while also being clear and descriptive. You will feel an instant connection to what they say because it is resonant with you on a spiritual level.

If things are hazy or ambiguous, this is a sign the psychic does not have genuine ability. 


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3. They Foster Dependence on Only Them

Some fraud psychics try to make you dependent on them by convincing you that they alone can divine your future, leading you to return multiple times. They might try to pressure you to book another session immediately or discourage you from seeing another reader.

An authentic psychic will ask you to wait a designated length of time, often months, before having another reading with them to provide space for things to play out. If you go back too soon, a good psychic knows you’ll get the same reading all over again. Additionally, a genuine psychic will be comfortable with you seeing other readers and getting multiple perspectives.

If your psychic is encouraging you to get readings too often or only with them, then you might want to look for another reader. 

4. They Give You an Uneasy Feeling

It’s one thing to be a bit nervous before a reading, but it’s a warning sign when things feel very off. If you sit down for a reading with a psychic and immediately feel unsettled, anxious, or uncomfortable, it is a sign that this is not a person you should have a reading with. This is your intuition warning you that this psychic is a sham.

The atmosphere of your reading should feel pleasant and relaxed. A good psychic will soothe you with their presence and gently calm down any feelings of fear, doubt, or confusion coming up for you. They are aware of the client’s emotions and their role to make the client feel as comfortable as possible.

Only proceed with a reading if you are at ease and relaxed in the presence of your psychic. 

5. They Make You Doubt Your Intuition

Many people called to a psychic reading are quite intuitive themselves. However, a sham psychic will try to make you doubt your intuition. This is because they want you to rely on them for guidance rather than your internal knowledge. In this way, they hook you to keep you coming back by causing you to neglect your instincts.

An authentic psychic aims to empower their client to trust their intuition and will often validate or verbalize what the client already knew but hadn’t yet fully integrated or realized. They put the puzzle pieces together to make it click for their client, leading them to have their own insights.

A fraud will continue to deny the inherent intuitiveness that all people have within them and make it seem like only they have the answers — watch out for this. 

6. They Guarantee Something Will or Will Not Happen

There are no guarantees, and every true psychic knows this. If a psychic is making assured promises that something will or will not happen, then this is a chance they are a scam. The abilities of a psychic only range so far, and there’s always a chance that something is overlooked or missed in a reading.

An authentic psychic will provide guidance and share what they see with you, but they will also remind you that things change. While things seem to be going in this direction at this moment in time, there’s always the opportunity for redirection.

If a psychic is giving you guaranteed assurances, you might want to still keep an open mind as this may be someone who is misrepresenting their abilities.

7. They Play Off Your Insecurities

A psychic that blames you for your misfortunes is trying to exert their power over you through tapping into your insecurities. If someone ever tries to make you believe that you will not succeed because you’re “too much” of anything (too old, too passive) or “not enough” (not worthy, not loveable), they are most likely trying to gauge where your insecurities lay to exploit them.

A real psychic knows that everyone has both strengths and weaknesses that are ultimately part of their unique gift to the world. They will guide you to self-realization to empower you to embody all aspects of yourself at all stages of life. Frauds make you feel bad about yourself to maintain control of your weakness so that you will continue to see them to feel better about yourself.

Notice how your psychic reacts to your sharing of confidential information — and if they use the information to empower you or hold power over you — to discern who’s real and who’s not. 

8. They Want You to Pay for Ancestor’s Mistakes

A classic scam that fraud psychics use is telling you that an ancestor, such as your great-grandfather, committed a bad deed that is now ruining the karma of your family. For a price, this psychic may claim they can remove the curse and clear its effect on your life.

This deed of another person is not what is impacting your current situation. A genuine psychic will not try to make your reading about another’s actions. If this happens to you, make sure you redirect the conversation back to yourself and don’t take what they say to heart.

Keep your boundaries strong and calmly leave knowing you are doing the right thing. 

9. They Tell You Only What You Want to Hear

Some fraud psychics will paint you a beautiful picture of what the future will look like: happiness, success, healing, great relationships, money. If things sound too good to be true, this is a sign the psychic may be a fraud. This technique is used to keep you in an illusion where they are rewarded for feeding you what you want to hear.

An authentic psychic will acknowledge that good things are coming your way, but they also acknowledge the other aspects of life as well. There will always be ups and downs, and with life in constant motion, a reading should be balanced. It may not always be what you want to hear, but it’s what is truthful.

Creating a mirage for you is a sure sign that a psychic is nothing but fluff. 

10. They Ask You to Keep Secrets

If a psychic ever asks you not to reveal what they’ve shared with you, this is a sure sign they are a fraud. Manipulation and lies thrive best in secrecy. Chances are they don’t want you to repeat it because they’ve said similar things to others.

Whether or not you share your reading with someone else is entirely up to your discretion. An authentic psychic would never ask you to withhold information or bind you to silence. Instead, many genuine psychics encourage you to take notes during your session, and some even record them for you to listen to again later.

If you are pressured to conceal the content of your reading, keep in mind this is a tactic used to isolate you from others. You are the one that gets to decide who you share the reading with. 

Conclusion

Remembering these tips is sure to help you choose a psychic who is the real deal. If you are currently looking for a psychic reading, check out this list of the top online psychic reading services full of bona fide psychics ready to assist you.

Alanna Kali
Other than contributing to Top10.com, Alanna Kali is an astrologer, numerologist, and tarot reader. She currently is editor-in-chief of a psychic book review website called Musing Mystical. Alanna loves reading, spending time in nature, and traveling.