psychics suckering grandparents (along with loads of other people)

i ran across an interesting article offering advice on how to protect the elderly against direct mail scams -- this particular scam involved psychic scammer maria duval.

more info about this rather long-running scam (i can't understand how law enforcement isn't all over this crap -- some of these comments and entries are at least 4 years old):

http://mariaduvalscam.blogspot.com/

http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/psychic_scams_MariaDuval.php

http://maria-duval.pissedconsumer.com/

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=12797

OOOKAAAAY --- this one is a bit different

i can't say i've heard one like this before:

Florida police say a professed psychic not only allegedly bilked a female client, but also convinced her to coat her body in gel and cellophane before jogging.

i mean, as if the $50,000 shellacking wasn't enough...

definitely click on those 3 related stories links in that article for more sundry psychic scammolas.

...and on the Psychic Scam front

More and more "psychics" are getting busted and (yippee!) ARRESTED! unfortunately, not enough for my liking.

this one was busted in an actual sting operation in a Long Island mall (hey, why don't they start putting THESE on reality TV - that would be fun to watch!) and these two were arrested in Tennessee. the authorities are actually looking for more victims to come forward in the latter case - I sure hope they do.

then there's gina marie marks who went in for round two of psychic scamming; moving her flim-flam from south FL to Hollywood, CA -- it looks like it didn't work out for her in tinsel town, either.

this british "psychic" actually jumped into a newer niche, actually combining two different trends, michael jackson and twitter, to create a publicity stunt for her home base - some London dress shop or other. alas, she didn't get arrested. yet.

Psychic Silliness

i'd recently heard of psychic parties (like tupperware, only more stupid) and pet psychics. plus, while miss cleo and dionne have wilted away, their phone and internet per minute scams live on in abundance. there's psychic healing and psychic surgery.

i thought i'd heard it all, but i was looking through google images and ran across some things i'd never noticed before.
none of them good.
did you know.....

there's an "are you psychic?" "OFFICIAL" guide for kids. ($10 what a bargain.)
there are text-a-psychic services. (for a nice fee of course)
you can buy "psychic test" software to test your skills. (i saw free software for this as well.)
there's something called "psychic speed dating". i don't want to know.
you can buy "psychic ability" bracelets. i wonder if they make psychic jewelry for other body parts.
not only are there now psychic kiddie camps to brainwash the wee ones, there's also a psychic "boot camp" for the grownups. special.

i actually have no cute closing comment for this. i honestly don't know what to say except to wonder how many stupid people fall for this crap.

UK Show to Debunk Psychic Scams

all i can say is it's about time:

Objective Productions has enlisted Derren Brown and scientist Kat Akingbade to front a C4 web series debunking psychic phenomena.

Each episode of Science of Scams will feature a hoax film that appears to show unexplained activity such as ghosts, chi energy or telekinesis.

Brown will introduce each spoof video in the manner of Rod Serling’s introductions for The Twilight Zone, while Akingbade will demonstrate the science behind the phenomena.

full article here.