Can You Sue a Psychic and Win? Recent Rulings

A psychic promised to bring a husband back, and didn't, so the client sued. Another psychic persuaded 100 people to sign over $6 million in cash because he said he could time the stock market. Can you get punitive damages for pain and suffering if a psychic is wrong or exploits you? Recent rulings against psychic operations big and small are discussed in this article. From these you can predict for yourself the likelihood of winning money and damages.

How To Get Refunds from Psychic Scammers and Bots

Of the six biggest Internet psychics who con thousands of people every day, which ones offer money-back guarantees -- and which ones don't? Can you claim a refund? And here's what to do when a robot "psychic" like Norah Astro-Clairvoyant makes unauthorized charges on your credit card. Click here to read it.

Horoscope Review: Pasqualina, Bargain-Basement Clairvoyance Fake

"Pasqualina" offers a free clairvoyant horoscope. She doesn't seem to know there is no such thing. Anyway, when you buy readings from her you will get what you pay for. http://hubpages.com/t/29d558

Horoscope Review: SpiritNow.com Phone Psychics

SpiritNow.com advertises a free and honest 5-minute psychic reading. Unfortunately the SpiritNow.com site belongs to discredited media psychic Sylvia Browne. But I was curious and called. Here's what happened.

Horoscope Review: "Norah" with a New Face is Still a Fake

Bogus "Norah" Ages Forty Years In Six Weeks

Click on those little text ads saying "Scary Accurate Horoscope" or "Shocking Online Horoscope," and you may well be linked to premiumastrology.com. In 2010 its homepage featured a young brunette as "Norah," but as of Feb. 2011, the model who represents "Norah" has suddenly become AN OLD GRAY-HAIRED LADY. Don't be fooled. "Norah" is not an astrologer or psychic, nor even a person. She is a front for a large corporation advertising several bogus online psychics, including the notorious Gabriella. The new "Norah" is still offering a free "reading" which her site even admits is not real or accurate. Click on "Terms of Service" on the bottom of the homepage and you will find in the long 15-part legal disclaimer:

ALL READINGS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NO GUARANTEE CAN BE GIVEN AS TO ACCURACY.

THE EDITOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW YOU INTERPRET OR APPLY ASTROLOGICAL OR DIVINATORY INFORMATION AND ALL THE CONTENT PROVIDED. ALL READINGS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NO GUARANTEE CAN BE GIVEN AS TO ACCURACY.

This disclaimer and other changes in the site were made in response to hundreds of online complaints about "Norah." Horoscope Review first outed her as a fake in August 2010.

Still believe Norah has the answers? If you're game, here's how to play: Enter your name, email, birthday, your "star sign" (correctly called your "Sun sign"), and choose a "wish" from a drop-down menu. You will soon receive an email from "Norah" that requires your confirmation. You have now "opted in" to receive her emails. Her long, long messages are entirely computerized, and everyone gets the same messages, with only a change of name and birth date.

The message may try to persuade you that "Norah" is not a slick business entity but a born psychic; gives you a computerized "mini-reading" that could apply to anyone ("Love plays an important role in your life"), and declares that good luck is coming your way, but you of course need to pay $79 for Norah's services to help you make the most of it. She'll also send you extras such as ebooks. But it's smarter not to give her any money in the first place, because there is no "Norah." There is only a corporation that knows how to extract money from anxious or ignorant people.

Real psychics don't need to advertise; word-of-mouth suffices. Some people use telephone psychics or online psychics as counselors or sounding boards. That's fine. I just want the world to know Premiumastrology.com does not deliver what people pay her for.

(This review was updated on 14 February 2011.)

(Note: Norah keeps changing herself and her website. Sylvia's original review of Norah's site was posted here back in August 2010.)

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, reviews online horoscopes for quality and accuracy. Look for more of her reviews of online psychics and horoscope sites on hubpages.com. Copyright 2010 by Sylvia Sky.

Gabriella the Psychic's Copycat, "Ms. Singh"

Psychic Gabriella, now well known as a bogus astrologer and psychic, and "Ms. Singh" at the website bestpsychicinternational.com are very much alike. There's no picture of "Ms.Singh," but she shares Gabriella's biography -- including this: "To this day, Ms. Singh is the only initiated westerner who knows the secrets of Indian celestial magic." Gabriella too is the "only initiated westerner" with that credential -- so something is wrong! Like Gabriella, "Ms. Singh" was also taught by the nonexistent "Shri Maliki," and studied astrology with a "33rd Degree Grand Master," which is an honorary (meaningless) Freemason title that has nothing to do with astrology.

It was a sharp reader who noticed the likeness and clued me in. I've seen no ads for Ms. Singh, so went to her site. Unlike Gabriella's site it is spare and mousy. No rates for Ms.Singh's services were given -- it says, "Call me and we will find an affordable rate for you: 1-866-930-95555" [sic], so I called.

The woman who answered said she was Ms. Singh. She had an East Indian accent. This doesn't mean she isn't a westerner, but I wondered. She asked how I had heard of her and I said, "the Internet." She asked my birthdate and then what my question was, and I said, "First I want to ask about your rates." She charges $75 for a full life reading and $110 for a reading involving a couple. I then asked about her education. She said, "What do you mean?" and I said, where had she trained as a psychic? And suddenly she had "another client in front of her" and asked if she could call me back.

According to Wikipedia, one million people living in Western countries have the surname "Singh," so without a first name "Ms. Singh" -- if she's a real person and that's her real name -- cannot be traced and investigated. But looking into both their website URL registrations I think that "Ms. Singh," who is based in Canada, is probably a company recently set up to compete with the huge European-based company that sells itself as "Gabriella," and "Ms. Singh" borrowed "Gabriella's" biography, hoping that copycat credentials would create the same kind of success.

Games, games! Don't contact either of them.

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, reviews online horoscope sites for quality and accuracy. See more of her reviews here. Copyright 2010 by Sylvia Sky.

Which Psychics Aren't Real?

I have been asked how I can tell which online psychics are fake.

I write horoscope reviews. If an online ad offers a free horoscope, I request one. I'm an astrologer, so if the 'scope makes no sense, I try again, giving a different name, email, and birthday. If I get the same reading, I got my "free horoscope" -- it's just fake, that's all.

Maybe along with or instead of a fake horoscope, they promise or send a card reading, or long emails selling "clairvoyant" or "psychic" services, or a "second reading." By now I sense that I'm being misled. So far I've found misleading ads by:

1. Norah
2. Jenna
3. Gabriella
4. Tara
   

These are misleading ones. When I investigated their individual claims of being "a fourth-generation clairvoyant" or "winning a Psychic of the Year Award," finding no proofs of these claims I checked for Internet complaints. (So should you.) If there are many bitter complaints, all the evidence, starting with the fake horoscope, points to fakery overall.

"Tara" told me I'd won the lottery -- that's amazing, considering I didn't even play!

The names and faces of these "psychics" are fronts for businesses that rake in millions by misleading people. They do not give customized, individualized psychic readings. Their products are "canned." This is tragic for desperate people who want online psychics to tell them winning lottery numbers or explain a child's death.

About Real Psychics

Real psychics are extremely rare and do not need to advertise. They build a regular local or regional clientele through word of mouth.Maybe they could advertise through Yahoo and invite the entire Internet to come get a reading from them, but that would be a terrible overload for one person, don't you think?

Real psychics do not need to "do" astrology or Tarot readings, and so are unlikely to offer those. Astrology and Tarot are two totally different arts and require extensive education and training. By contrast, real psychics have a gift. They do not need to be trained or mentored. They probably have unlisted phone numbers. They may very well be miserable with their gift and wish they did not have it.

It works the other way, too: Real, trustworthy astrologers do not claim to be psychics. Astrologers and psychics have nothing in common. Misleading ads for "free horoscopes" bet that most people don't know this.

Still think you need a psychic reading?

First, Google the name of the psychic or company and see what other clients have said. Do NOT pay money or call a number if you find complaints. Fake psychics are big business. Needy, suffering people are their bread and butter.

My opinion about psychic readings done "remotely" by phone or email is that electronic energy fields and the pressure on both the reader and the caller greatly interfere with the clarity of a psychic transaction.

Local psychics have websites so people can find them or book a reading, so you can try that, but I have been to two local psychics and was disappointed. One struggled along, getting everything wrong, and then declared me "hard to read." So it was my fault!

The other did a move that is classic fake! Very often, a fake psychic will tell you that someone important in your life has the initial "R." Every one of us has that, whether it's Robert our boss or Rover our dog, or a neighbor or lawyer with that initial.

A friend I'll call Sarah went to a psychic, although it was 70 miles outside of the city and its price was very high. The psychic was a plain-faced, working-class woman who lived with her parents in a small house and met clients in the living room. When Sarah came in, the psychic said she saw an orange aura and said, "You're anticipating something," and asked, "Who's George?" Sarah had just had a first date with a man named George. That was probably much like the experience you will have if you find a real psychic.

But if you don't find one, in my opinion your best bet for quick customized information and guidance is a local Tarot card reader with a good reputation, one you meet in person. Ask around at salons, coffeehouses, spas, and hotels. A real Tarot reader is a combination counselor and diviner, and an ethical one will be glad to give you references. The price will be reasonable.

Sylvia Sky, experienced astrologer, monitors 70-plus online horoscope sites for quality and accuracy. Copyright 2010 by Sylvia Sky. See other horoscope reviews.