If You've Been Scammed
What to do, where to turn, and how the Restitution Fund
may be able to help you recover
If you believe you may have been the victim of psychic fraud, it can be helpful to understand how these situations typically develop.
Many scams follow recognizable patterns, using urgency, emotional pressure, or escalating claims to draw people in over time. It’s not always obvious in the moment.
This page will help you take a clear look at what happened and outline practical steps you can take next.
While every case is different, many scams involve one or more of the following:
- Claiming you are cursed, blocked, hexed, or in spiritual danger
- Pressuring you to send more money to remove the problem
- Promising guaranteed outcomes in love, health, money, or legal matters
- Creating a sense of urgency or fear
- Demanding secrecy
- Encouraging repeated payments that escalate over time
- Making you feel dependent on them
- Contacting you repeatedly through direct messages or fake accounts
- Refusing refunds while continuing to make alarming claims
People who have been scammed often feel embarrassed, angry, heartbroken, confused, or ashamed. Some feel grief not only over the money, but over the trust that was broken. Some people find themselves thinking they should have known better.
You do not need to minimize what happened just because the fraud involved spiritual language or psychic services. Financial and emotional exploitation is still exploitation, and you are not alone.
If you believe you have been scammed, try to act as quickly as possible:
- Stop all contact
Do not send more money, gifts, or personal information. Do not continue texting, emailing, or messaging the person, even if they promise to fix the problem or threaten consequences to you or others you care about. - Save everything
Gather and keep copies of:
- Emails
- Text messages
- Social media messages
- Invoices or receipts
- Payment records
- Screenshots of websites, profiles, and ads
- Names, phone numbers, email addresses, and usernames
This documentation may help if you decide to report the fraud or apply for restitution in the future.
- Secure your accounts
If you shared sensitive information, update your passwords and review your financial and online accounts for unusual activity. - Contact your bank or payment provider
If you paid by credit card, debit card, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, or another service, contact them right away. In some cases, the charge may be disputed or the transaction reported as fraud. In some cases, these providers may also take action against the scammer’s account.
The Restitution Fund for Victims of Psychic Fraud was created to offer limited financial assistance to qualifying victims when funds are available.
This fund is not intended to replace legal remedies, chargebacks, or law enforcement action. Instead, it exists as a compassionate effort to provide some measure of practical help to people who have experienced real harm.
Because available funds will be limited, not every applicant will qualify or receive an award. Please visit the application page for further details.