How to Tell If a Psychic Is Real or Fake: 8 Signs to Look For

Life is often plagued with unknowns.

Sometimes these questions can keep you up at night, reeling with queries that you are longing for answers to.

Whether you are grappling with questions about a family matter, your love life, or a potential direction for your life, it’s natural to feel frustrated or alone.

You may feel desperate to find answers to the questions weighing so heavily on your mind.

At a time like this, you might consider getting a psychic reading but feel a bit hesitant, wondering, “Are psychics real or fake?”

While there are many reliable, accurate psychics who truly want to help you with your walk through life, there are unfortunately many other psychics in the world offering false promises and predictions that have no hope of coming to fruition.

The truth of the matter is, there are so many fraudulent psychics on the loose that these false predictions alone are a $22 billion dollar a year industry!

But don’t worry.

I’m here to answer all the questions you might have and point you in the right direction.

Keep reading to discover exactly what warning signs you need to keep an eye out for to spot fake psychics a mile away.

– Updated 2/11/2020

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How to Spot a Fake Psychic or Medium: 8 Ways

These are the top 8 signs you should look for to separate the fake psychics from the real deal.

They Ask Way Too Many Questions

If you visit a psychic who keeps asking you question after question, this is often a sign that the person is just trying to get the most information out of you they possibly can to help legitimize their false prediction.

Again, this ages-old trick is just another sneaky way to scam you out of more cash.

False psychics often pose leading questions to a client that require you to offer more information about yourself than you may have intended to.

Fake psychics take this information to perform their “reading” before relaying a generalized message that leaves you with little new knowledge than you had prior to the session.

They Make Untrue Claims About a Past Life

One of the hallmarks of fake psychics is if the medium makes the fraudulent claim that the client was a figure of great historical importance in a previous life.

For example, a so-called psychic performing a reading on a female client might tell her that she was a queen in her past life, such as Marie Antionette, Nefertiti, or Cleopatra.

Another past life claim some false psychics make is to tell the client that they were a movie star in a previous life or even someone who was killed during the Holocaust.

They Try to Scare You

A real psychic would never attempt to wield fear as a way to keep drawing you back for yet another reading.

However, phony psychics’ bread and butter come from getting you to hand over your cash for another false prediction.

As a result, fake psychics will often use fear tactics to attract clients and keep them coming back again and again.

A fake psychic might tell you that the path you’re on is precarious and you need ongoing guidance from them in order to achieve the results you want.

Be warned, these fear tactics are simply a method to manipulate you to come back for session after session and fork over more payments.

They Say That You Are Cursed

Another sign to watch for to ensure you don’t get duped by false psychics is to stay far away from anyone who makes the claim that you have been cursed.

Scam artists frequently use this technique, but a genuine medium never would.

In fact, the claim that a client has been cursed is one of the oldest tricks in existence, and phony psychics use it time and time again to deceive unwitting clients into handing over their hard-earned dollars.

Fake psychics will frequently make the claim that you are encompassed by a dark force or cloud.

They might say that your family has been cursed.

These claims are just another type of fear tactic to get you to pay for more sessions.

A fake psychic will hang the curse claim over your head to keep you coming back for more as far as they can take the scam.

Another hallmark sign that you’ve encountered a fake psychic is if the medium tries to set up props like white candles or eggs to soak up the curse hanging over your head.

They Say Things That Compel You to Ask More Questions

Another sign that could help you spot false psychics is if the medium will make certain claims to capture your curiosity or interest, then leave you hanging until you cough up another payment for the full reading.

The following are some common things fake psychics might say to try to induce you to hand over more cash in return for their false predictions:

• I’ve never witnessed numbers (or an aura or chat) as yours show. You are an exceptional client!
• Your challenges are from your past life, but for a more in-depth reading, we can explore the best way to go about fixing that.
• I can tell you how to get your ex back and can guarantee the results you’re looking for.
• You are currently under a black magic spell, but I provide services to help you overcome this.
• My predictions and psychic intuitions are always correct.
• I see love and money heading your way, and with my help, you can stay on the path to achieve those goals.
• I feel the energy of someone who was close to you and has since passed away attempting to reach out to you.
• I see you personally in a vision (or dream).
• I have magical talismans and crystals to help you attain your dreams.
• Someone very near and dear to you has the initial “L” (or any other type of initial).
• I inherited my psychic abilities from my ancestors.

Their Answers Are Always Vague

One of the most glaring signs of a fake psychic is when a medium provides you very general information but without getting into any real specifics that could offer true value for your situation.

Seasoned cold readers are skilled in acquiring plenty of general information about a client based on how they dress and carry themselves.

The scam artist can then relay this information back to you as psychic intuition.

However, if you try to push for specifics, you’ll be met with vague, unclear answers at the very best.

Examples include:

• “You’ve been under a lot of stress recently.”
• “You lost a loved one recently.”
• “I get the idea that you are in need of a vacation.”

I’m sure you get the picture.

The point is, if those kinds of generalized assessments are the very best a medium has to offer, that doesn’t look good for you.

A reading from a genuine psychic will give you specific information that the reader would have had no way of knowing apart from using their powers of intuition and communicating with the spirit guides.

This brief video demonstrates some of the tricks fake psychics might attempt to use:

They Offer Unsolicited Advice to People They Don’t Know

It may seem like an obvious point, but it is worth mentioning that legitimate psychics will never just walk up to people to offer their services.

Fake psychics may do this, appearing vulnerable and feverishly claiming they have something of great significance to tell you.

The false psychic might claim that their message is so important they can’t tell you in public, so you’ll have to make an appointment to get the information.

Don’t fall for it!

It is possible for genuine psychics to receive sudden knowledge or insight regarding a stranger, but they would probably never approach you outright in case of an unpleasant reaction.

If a legitimate psychic ever did approach a complete stranger, they would most likely not be requesting any money for the message.

Instead, they would just tell you what it was they wanted to say and not push for anything further.

Fake Psychics Only Tell You the Things You’re Hoping to Hear

The fact is, a true psychic is not always necessarily going to tell you what you want to hear.

One of the easiest ways to spot fake psychics is if a medium only ever tells you what you want to hear.

It has been found that men reach out to psychics regarding their love lives in just 11% of cases, while women will consult a psychic about love as much as 85% of the time.

Fake psychics can sense vulnerabilities and will keep telling you what you want to hear in order to keep you coming back time and time again.

A fake psychic is well aware that happy, satisfied clients won’t need their services.

Phony psychics benefit from a positive reading and the knowledge of the statistics that are most applicable to your situation so they can tell you exactly what you want to hear on the basis of this type of information.

These Traits Make You Vulnerable to Tricks Used by Fake Psychics

Be careful to watch for traits that could make you more susceptible to be a target to fake psychics.

The following traits are elements that a fake psychic will often look for and take advantage of based on their knowledge of relevant statistics and the psychic industry.

• Being lonely
• Experiencing a loss in your life
• Dealing with challenges in your love life
• Divorce
• Being a woman
• Facing financial difficulties
• Being between 21 and 60 years of age
• Living with friends or family out of a need
• Being dissatisfied with your career
• Being someone who lets others continuously criticize what you do
• Being someone who doesn’t feel attractive
• Being someone who depends on others for financial support
• Feeling helpless
• Experiencing displacement from your country of origin
• Someone who thinks they always have to be strong for everyone else

If any of these traits apply to circumstances you’re currently facing, you might find it beneficial to have a conversation over the phone (or via online chat), with an authentic psychic.

The best phone psychics are there to advise you and could help you sort through your situation or feelings.

However, because clients often have one or more of the traits listed above, fake psychics will read the tone of your voice, your inflection, your accent, and even background noise before determining the answer they will give.

Studies show that both rich and poor alike turn to mediums and psychic for guidance.

A fake psychics’ one goal is to leave you hanging and keep you coming back for more, so you’ll become hooked on getting “answers” from their readings.

The Silver Lining

If you’re feeling discouraged by all this talk of false psychics—don’t be.

The good news is, that as many fake mediums and psychics as there are out in the world trying to dupe people into handing over their hard-earned money, there are so many legitimate, genuine psychics out there who truly want to help their clients and provide them valuable guidance.

The key is to know how to locate the top-rated real psychics to attain the ideal results for your reading while separating the fake psychics from the mix so you don’t get scammed.

The first thing you need to do to help ensure you stay far away from fake psychics is to search for a trusted service that enforces stringent vetting standards for their mediums.

By choosing a psychic network that thoroughly vets readers, you can rest assured that you are speaking with a genuine advisor who really knows what they’re talking about.

By doing this, you will save yourself so much unnecessary time and trouble.

You will also save yourself the potentially massive amount of money that you would otherwise spend by buying false readings from someone whose only interest is to advance their own bank account and keep you coming back for more faulty predictions.

The insight and wisdom of a true psychic is a valuable way to find out if you are headed on the right path to attain your future goals and achieve the happiness you seek.

If you are grappling with puzzling life questions, seeking the advice of a psychic is a wise decision.

With that said be sure that you can truly trust the advisor you’re speaking with.

During your first few readings with your new psychic, be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for any of the telltale signs of fake psychics that I noted above.

If you are ever in a psychic reading and notice that your medium is guilty of any of the signs of fake psychics we discussed, take anything they tell you with a huge grain of salt and be sure that you do not purchase their services ever again.

By keeping a sharp eye out for the signs of fake psychics, you can learn how to easily discern the real deal from the scam artists in the industry.

When you seek the advice of a legitimate psychic, you may find yourself experiencing the clarity you have been searching for and walk away with a more distinct idea of the best path forward for your life.