How do psychic mediums know stuff about you

[Dr. Keith]

Thanks Dr Keith, you are right! I have come on this site to re educate myself, the trickery behind it is incredible. A medium once told me she can communicate with god, the arrogance these people have, religion in itself is all about control and for her to claim she can communicate with god is insane and it did frighten me (religion has always been a negative for me) so I just decided to stop believing in religion altogether (best decision I made) but when this medium claimed she can commune with god it scared me and made me wonder if she really can and if mediums are real and heaven/hell do exists but if it's all trickery then I feel relief and all of your comments have explained the realities which is very re assuring

Hat tip to Shrinker for pointing it out. I'm just good at repeating good ideas over and over until people give me credit.

 

[8enotto]

If Madame Woo doesn't have your credit card numbers in short time she knows she never will. It's about the quick turn and cashing out. If a big fish bites and needs multiple readings she hit payday.

The police use some of the same tricks in interrogation and if one spots it early enough it can be played with. That doesn't make many friends in uniform but it can work to an advantage.

These types are shameless and don't care the damage they do.

 

[3point14]

Oh look, a spiritist. I knew one would show up.

Does that make me a psychic?

It absolutely does, but you need to learn to control it.

You need my online, fast, effective course in how to train your natural abilities.

Pay just £99.99 for the full course at www.aloadofoldbollox.com and learn to expand your mind!

 

[Segnosaur]

No it wasn't in the newspaper, my mum died in 2013, I am from the UK and this medium is from the US...

Location doesn't matter when you have the internet. There are a lot of ways that the information could have been found out.... some other user's facebook post, along the lines of "I miss person X", government records, etc.

she did state if my mum is in spirit and didn't say she is in spirit so was she being general?

Well, if she did say "IF" your mom is in spirit, so it does sound like a guess oh her part.

But even if she did definitively say "Your mom is deceased", that doesn't mean it wasn't a guess. She could be giving the same random guess to hundreds of people (with the home that 1 or 2 might fall for it).

It would be relatively easy to run such a scam.... purchase a list of email addresses (through some shady spam company). Create an email stating "I have a message from your deceased mother". Send it to 1000 people on your list. (It costs almost nothing to send an email.) Of those people you sent it to, most will either have parents that are still living (and thus discard the email right away), or think that it is a scam. But all you need is the 1 or 2 out of 1000 to think "maybe there's something to it" to justify the investment.

 

[carlitos]

The psychic can't spell or use punctuation correctly. She didn't even give the correct address for her website. If you were interviewing any other person to perform a service for you, would that have an impact?

ETA -

No it wasn't in the newspaper, my mum died in 2013, I am from the UK and this medium is from the US, she did state if my mum is in spirit and didn't say she is in spirit so was she being general? I've just emailed to say my dad is in spirit too (he is very much alive) I am trying to trick her to see if I can catch her out.....

I suspect that this scammer knows how to find public records for her victims in the UK. That's probably what they teach in these "mediumship" classes.

I have studied Advanced Mediumship at the Arthur Findley College of Spiritualism and Psychic Sciences in Essex, England. I have also studied with world renowned medium, Tony Stockwell of Great Britain,

 

[MEequalsIxR]

Richardo can you stop posting please and stop trying to convert me to your irrational beliefs

Excellent advise but I doubt it will be followed.

 

[abaddon]

Thanks Dave. This was her original email -
Does this sound like a prediction or just a general statement? Yes I am on Facebook but she doesn't know my full name.
Hi Amy ,*

One more thing . If I am connecting with a loved one who has past I ask them to give me some specific info so there is no doubt who is coming through . So if your mom. were in spirit and she wanted to come through she would need to give some kind of evidence that only you and her would know .

* * * * *Sincerely ,

* * * * * * * * * *Judith Anne*

Given your facebook page, it would not be difficult to find your full name. And don't all of the grammatical errors give you pause?

 

[Ryan O'Dine]

Welcome to the ISF, Amy. I just want to take a moment and consider the term “con man”. The word “con” in that phrase stands for “confidence”. These are confidence artists -- they’re very good at winning over your trust. It's the one thing charlatans the world over share in common, it may be the closest thing to an actual “superpower” they have.

How do they do it? There are a hundred ways, subtle and overt. It's about body language, tone of voice, facial expression. It's about projecting a sense of self-assurance and authority while making you feel like they’re your friend. It's about being charming. We don't always like to admit it around here, but they are.

So how do you resist? The best way is to become a grumpy, cynical, world weary skeptic, but not all people can pull that off. The next best way is to keep asking yourself questions: what's the psychic trying to project right now, and how am I reacting to it? How am I feeling about what she's saying, and why? Who's giving information to whom? Keep asking, keep your defenses up, don't drop them for a minute. And always bear in mind that his or her primary goal in life is to win you over. That's their game plan, that's all they need to make you think they’re for real. You have the power not to let them. That’s your superpower.

 

[wasapi]

Welcome Amy! When I first read her communication to you, my initial focus was on the poor spelling, sentence structure, and other signs. At first I thought perhaps English isn't her first language, but then I realized it is.


To me, I hear the ignorance in her words. I would like to be more sympathetic, but she is stupid, and is trying to make a buck. Sometimes I look at believers sites, and found that to be common. They believe in "spells" and all of that crap, and they are simply dumber then dirt and ignorant beyond belief.


Glad you caught this one!

 

[AmyW]

Thank you Ryan, Julia and everyone else for your comments, absolutely sound advice.
Do these people train to become a medium aka train to be a confidence artist, I like what was said about con meaning confidence
Some mediums come across as very caring, are these certain mediums just plain delusional and think that they are helping people who have lost someone?

 

[Segnosaur]

Thank you Ryan, Julia and everyone else for your comments, absolutely sound advice.
Do these people train to become a medium aka train to be a confidence artist

Some probably get 'training', others learn it on their own. But if you watch some of the appearances by any of the 'big names', you'll see that what the psychics do doesn't really take all that much skill or talent.

Some mediums come across as very caring

Which is the problem.

Sometimes, the real world is not a very fun place. You go to the doctor, and he might give you bad news in a rather plain way. A medium that comes across as caring makes it easier for people to accept false hope.

are these certain mediums just plain delusional and think that they are helping people who have lost someone?

Again some may be delusional. Most are not.

 

[abaddon]

Thank you Ryan, Julia and everyone else for your comments, absolutely sound advice.
Do these people train to become a medium aka train to be a confidence artist, I like what was said about con meaning confidence

Yes. I used to cold read. I gave up when people started taking it seriously.

Some mediums come across as very caring, are these certain mediums just plain delusional and think that they are helping people who have lost someone?

Sure. There is an entire spectrum from the outright charlatan to the true believer. Doesn't stop it from being wrong. Just because someone has a natural talent for cold reading does not automatically mean it has some validity

 

[AmyW]

Thanks Segnosaur, this is reassuring I think I am naive to these 'mediums' and the tactics they use. I didn't think about public records

 

[AmyW]

It's so so wrong! I hope one day they will all stop existing it really makes me mad! How can they do this to people!

 

[AmyW]

So do some mediums truly believe that they can talk to the dead?

 

[dudalb]

The classic film noir "Nightmare Alley" deals with a carny scam artist (Tyrone Power in a superb performance) who decides to go into the spiritualist racket. The movie was made in 1948, but a lot of the techniques is shows are still used today.
Guillermo Del Toro is doing a remake, with Bradley Cooper in the main role.

 

[Axxman300]

Here's a quick psychic reading for you, free of charge:

Someone who's posted on this thread:

Is worried about their finances.
Thinking about getting a new job even though it's a huge risk.
Is missing a beloved pet.
Has a family member who is ill.
Has minor car trouble that they've been putting off due to money, but it bothers them.
Just had a birthday.
Is shopping for someone else's birthday.
Has an upcoming doctor's appointment that they're nervous about.
Is thinking about going back to school.
Has gone off their diet.
Is thinking about a large purchase which will upset their spouse/significant other.
Didn't see the last Avengers movie.
Like's chocolate ice cream.

People have so much in common, it's about casting a wide net.

 

[SusanB-M1]

Even then body language will give away a bucketload. During the "It begins with a 'd', no, a 'b' or maybe an 'f'" routine it's really difficult not to let it show in your face when one of the scattergun 'facts' hits.

And the very fact of contacting the 'psychic' in the first place gives away a whole lot of information.

 

[SusanB-M1]

I am a skeptic I can assure you. I am trying to 're learn things which I have been brought up with. I used to be a Christian, goodness knows that made me very irrational and I hate all religion. I then went to see a medium (it's a long story). I am trying to lead a rational life and grow apart from all things spiritual, religion and spirituality is delusional but when someone comes along and seems to know stuff it scares me. I am trying to 're educate myself realisiticly

You are using an extremely narrow definition of the word 'spiritual'. Remember that faith believers do not have a monopoly on the word. I, a total atheist, am a spiritual person, i.e. I have many aspects to my character/personality which are of the imagination and none of which believes in anything at all supernatural.

 

[AmyW]

Haha Axxman there are a few hits actually! Weirdly enough I have just been to buy a birthday present for someone, that's mad! I have also just had a birthday, last month and yes I like chocolate ice cream, it's so easy!
I too am trying to get out of religion, these mediums seem to believe in a god, what sort of god and how can their god allow such upset.
Susan, I was once a Christian and had been very previously brain washed, I am seeking a future which entails my own decisions and control.