Four people were recently convicted of grand theft charges in San Francisco involving a scam that has become known as the “Blessing scam.”  The scam starts when elderly people are approached on the street by the scammers who start up conversations in which the scammer informs the victim that the scammer is a clairvoyant and that the scammer foresees  horrible events, such as deaths of household members unless the victim gives the scammer, money and jewelry to scare the evil spirits.   Too many times, vulnerable people have fallen for this scam and given the scammers what they asked for.  I first warned you about this scam over a year ago, however, it was not until a few weeks ago that law enforcement in California obtained their first convictions for these scams.

TIPS

Phony clairvoyants and psychics have been using their “powers” to steal the money of unwary people for thousands of years.  This present version of the scam has not been limited to San Francisco, but has been reported in many major cities including, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, however, until now law enforcement has not been able to get any convictions.  As always, the best remedy for a scam is to not be scammed in the first place.  Never pay someone to scare away bad spirits.  The scammers who do this kind of scam are very convincing so the most important thing you can do is to not get involved with them in any fashion.