Is a Parent or Loved One Giving Money to a Psychic? A Family Guide to Spotting It, Talking About It and Protecting Them

The short answer. An adult is allowed to spend their own money on psychic readings, even if you think it’s a waste. What families need to watch for is exploitation: curse or danger claims tied to payments, fees that keep growing, secrecy (“don’t tell your children”), payment by gift card, wire, cash or crypto, and bills that start going unpaid. If you see those signs, talk about the money, not the belief, help the person set up safeguards they agree to (account alerts, a trusted contact on bank and investment accounts), and report suspected exploitation to Adult Protective Services, local police or the National Elder Fraud Hotline (1-833-372-8311) in the US, or the equivalent where you live.

You may have noticed it gradually: a parent mentioning “my reader” more often, unusual withdrawals, a new defensiveness about money, a story about a curse on the family. Or it may have arrived all at once, with a bank calling about a large transfer.

Either way, you are in a difficult position. You want to protect someone you love without treating them like a child, and without pushing them closer to the person you are worried about. This guide is written for that position. It is part of this site’s trust library, alongside what to do if a psychic says you’re cursed and how to get money back after a psychic scam.

Choice or Exploitation? Draw the Line First

Before you act, be clear about what you are actually worried about, because it decides what you can and should do.

Probably a personal choice	Possibly exploitation
Occasional readings at listed rates	Fees that escalate for “work”, “cleansing” or “protection”
Spending within their means	Spending that leaves bills unpaid or savings draining
They talk openly about it	They have been told to keep it secret, especially from family
Paid through a platform or by card	Paid by gift cards, wire transfers, cash, crypto or payment apps
Readings about everyday questions	Claims of curses, danger to the family or a loved one “trapped” after death
They seem comforted	They seem frightened, anxious or dependent
One reader among other interests	A single reader who has become a daily confidant and decision-maker

If everything is in the left column, the most respectful thing may be to leave it alone, or simply to share our guide to healthy reading habits. If several items are in the right column, keep reading.

Why Older Adults Are Targeted

Psychic exploitation can happen at any age, but older adults are at higher risk for reasons that have nothing to do with intelligence:

• They are more likely to have savings and home equity, and to be managing money alone after the death of a spouse.
• Grief and loneliness make the warmth of a daily “reader” relationship powerful, and make claims about a lost spouse or child hard to resist.
• Early cognitive change can show up in money first. A study of more than 81,000 Medicare beneficiaries found that people later diagnosed with dementia were more likely to miss bill payments as early as six years before their diagnosis (Nicholas et al., JAMA Internal Medicine). The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has noted that even mild cognitive impairment can weaken a person’s ability to spot a scam (CFPB).
• The losses are large. In 2024, people over 60 reported close to $4.9 billion in fraud losses to the FBI, more than any other age group (IC3 2024 Annual Report; AARP).

Psychic schemes have specifically targeted older people. The Justice Department said the “Maria Duval” mail operation, shut down in 2016, took more than $180 million, largely from elderly and vulnerable people who received mass-produced “personal” letters and talismans (DOJ).

The Warning Signs Families Notice

You will rarely see the reading itself. You will see its effects.

Money signs

• Unusual cash withdrawals, often in round amounts.
• Purchases of gift cards, especially several at once.
• Wire transfers, new payment apps or cryptocurrency accounts.
• Bills, rent or medication going unpaid for the first time.
• Jewellery, heirlooms or cash missing from the home (“taken to be cleansed”).
• Requests to borrow money with vague explanations.

Behaviour signs

• Secrecy or defensiveness about a particular person or phone calls.
• New fears: a curse, danger to grandchildren, bad luck attached to money.
• Withdrawal from friends, church or family who “don’t understand”.
• Daily or late-night calls or messages with one person.
• Decisions deferred to “what my reader says”.

Signs about the reader

• Contact outside any platform: private phone number, WhatsApp, Facebook messages, home visits.
• Claims only they can solve the problem.
• Deadlines, threats or warnings about what happens if payments stop.

Before You Talk: Prepare

1. Gather facts quietly. If you already have legitimate access (joint account, power of attorney, shared paperwork), note dates and amounts. Don’t snoop through accounts you have no right to access; it can damage trust and, in some cases, break the law.
2. Write down what you’ve observed, with dates. It helps you stay specific, and it will help if you later need to report.
3. Choose the right person and moment. A calm, private time. One or two people, not a family intervention. The person they trust most should lead.
4. Decide your goal for the first conversation. Usually: open the subject, show you care, and agree on one small next step. Not: win the argument.

How to Talk About It (and What Not to Say)

The single most important principle: talk about the money and their wellbeing, not about whether psychics are real. Arguing about belief makes the person defend the reader. Talking about money and fear gives them room to see the problem themselves.

Opening lines that tend to work

• “I’m not judging your readings. I’m worried because I’ve noticed money going out that doesn’t seem like you.”
• “You’ve seemed frightened lately. Can you tell me what’s been worrying you?”
• “I’d feel the same if anyone was asking you for this much money: your doctor, your church, me. Can we look at it together?”

Questions that open things up

• “What did the reader say the payments are for?”
• “What happens if you stop paying?”
• “Did they ask you to keep it between the two of you? Why do you think that is?”
• “Is there anyone else you trust, your priest, your pastor, a friend, who you could ask about this?”

Naming the warning signs gently

• “Real spiritual help doesn’t usually come with a price that keeps going up.”
• “When someone says something terrible will happen unless you pay, that’s pressure, even if they mean well.”
• “Secrecy is the part that worries me most. People helping you don’t usually need you to hide it.”

What to avoid

• Ridicule or “how could you fall for this?” Shame is what keeps people paying and stops them telling you more.
• Ultimatums (“stop or I’m taking your bank card”). Unless you have legal authority, you can’t enforce them, and they push the person toward secrecy.
• Confronting the reader yourself. It warns them, can prompt them to step up pressure on your relative, and may lead to deleted evidence.
• Expecting one conversation to fix it. Most people need several.

Protection Tools That Respect Their Independence

Most of these work best with the person’s agreement. Framing them as “the same protections I use” or “what the bank recommends for everyone” helps.

At the bank and brokerage

• Name a trusted contact person. A trusted contact is someone the bank or brokerage can call if it suspects exploitation or can’t reach the customer. US brokerages must make reasonable efforts to collect one under FINRA Rule 4512, and many banks offer the same. The trusted contact cannot move money; they can only be told about concerns (FINRA FAQ).
• Know that firms can pause suspicious transfers. FINRA Rule 2165 lets brokerages place a temporary hold on a disbursement when they reasonably believe exploitation is happening, and notify the trusted contact (FINRA Regulatory Notice 17-11).
• Banks can report without fear of liability. The federal Senior Safe Act (2018) protects trained bank and brokerage staff who report suspected exploitation of people 65 and older in good faith (FINRA fact sheet). If you’re worried, it is reasonable to ask your parent’s bank, with their agreement, to keep an eye out.
• Set up alerts. Text or email alerts for withdrawals or transfers above a chosen amount, sent to your parent and, if they agree, to you.
• View-only access. Many banks let account holders give a family member read-only access, so you can spot unusual activity without being able to move money.
• Lower daily limits for withdrawals, transfers and card payments.
• Separate spending money. A dedicated account or prepaid card for everyday and discretionary spending, with savings kept elsewhere.

Legal tools

• Durable financial power of attorney. Lets a chosen person manage finances if the person can no longer do so. It must be set up while the person has capacity. The CFPB’s free Managing Someone Else’s Money guides explain an agent’s duties, including spotting scams (CFPB).
• Revocable living trust or a second signer on large accounts, for people who want an extra check.
• Guardianship or conservatorship is a court process and a last resort, used when a person lacks capacity and other options have failed. It removes significant rights, so talk to an elder law attorney first.

In the UK, the equivalent of a durable power of attorney is a Lasting Power of Attorney for property and financial affairs, registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Capacity and undue influence

Two legal ideas matter here:

• Capacity is the ability to understand a decision and its consequences. Having capacity means a person may make choices others think are unwise.
• Undue influence is when someone takes advantage of a position of trust or power to override a person’s free will, for example by isolating them and creating fear. A person can have capacity and still be subject to undue influence.

If you think either is in question, an elder law attorney, the person’s doctor (with their consent) and Adult Protective Services can help you work out what’s going on.

Two Situations That Need Extra Care

A storefront or in-person “spiritual advisor”

Many of the largest documented cases involved local storefronts rather than websites. Rose Marks’s family ran fortune-telling shops in the Fort Lauderdale area; she was sentenced in 2014 to just over 10 years in federal prison for defrauding clients of more than $17.8 million (Broward Palm Beach New Times). In 2025, prosecutors in Pennsylvania charged two people over an alleged $596,000 curse-removal scheme run from a storefront (WYMT / Gray News).

In-person readers can build a much closer relationship than an online one: regular visits, phone calls at home, sometimes visits to the house. Watch for valuables leaving the home, cash withdrawals timed to appointments, and a reader who starts calling your relative rather than the other way round. If you see these, involve the bank and Adult Protective Services early.

”A message from Dad”: grief and mediumship

After the death of a spouse or child, a reader who claims contact can become extraordinarily important. Most mediums offer comfort without exploitation, and readings can sit alongside grief (our guide to whether mediums are real covers this). The danger signs are specific:

• the deceased is said to be “trapped”, “earthbound” or “in pain” and needs paid help;
• messages from the deceased ask for money or tell your relative to keep visiting;
• messages turn your relative against other family members (“your son doesn’t understand what your husband wants”).

If these appear, raise them gently and specifically, and consider involving a grief counsellor, a trusted faith leader or a bereavement group, who can offer connection without a price tag.

A Two-Week Action Plan

If you’re not sure where to start, this sequence works for most families.

Days 1–3: observe and record

• Note what you’ve seen and heard, with dates.
• Identify how payments are being made (card, gift cards, cash, wires, apps).
• Decide who in the family is best placed to talk.

Days 3–7: the first conversation

• Have a calm, private conversation focused on money and wellbeing, using the scripts above.
• Agree on one small step together, such as adding a trusted contact or turning on alerts.
• If they’re not ready, end warmly and plan to come back to it.

Week 2: safeguards and support

• Visit the bank or brokerage together to set up the agreed protections.
• If payments are continuing under pressure, make a report (see below), even if your relative isn’t ready.
• Line up something to fill the gap: a regular call, a weekly visit, a community or faith activity.

Ongoing

• Check in regularly without interrogating.
• Watch the warning signs list.
• Revisit legal planning (power of attorney) while your relative has capacity.

Questions to ask the bank

When you visit with your relative, these questions get useful answers quickly:

1. “Can we add a trusted contact person to these accounts?”
2. “Can you set alerts for withdrawals or transfers over a certain amount?”
3. “Can you lower the daily limits on cash and transfers?”
4. “Can I have view-only access?”
5. “What happens if a staff member suspects exploitation? Who would you contact?”
6. “If a large or unusual transfer is requested, can you call [your relative] or the trusted contact before it goes through?”

When and Where to Report

Report if you believe your relative is being exploited, even if they don’t want to report it themselves. Reports can lead to investigations, frozen funds and, in some cases, restitution.

United States

• Adult Protective Services (APS) in the state where your relative lives. APS investigates abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of older and vulnerable adults. You can search “Adult Protective Services” plus the state name.
• National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). Run by the Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime for people 60 and over. A case manager helps work out where to report and connects callers to support (Office of Justice Programs).
• Local police, especially if cash, jewellery or large sums are involved.
• FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and FBI IC3 at ic3.gov for anything online.
• The person’s bank or brokerage, which may be able to stop pending transfers.

United Kingdom

• Report Fraud (which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025): 0300 123 2040, or Police Scotland on 101.
• The local council’s adult safeguarding team.
• Hourglass, the UK charity for abuse of older people, runs a free, confidential helpline on 0808 808 8141 that covers financial abuse (Hourglass).

Canada

• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: 1-888-495-8501.
• Local police, and the provincial public guardian and trustee where capacity is in question.

Australia

• Scamwatch (ACCC) and ReportCyber for online fraud.
• 1800 ELDERHelp (1800 353 374), the national number that connects to state elder abuse services.

If Money Has Already Gone

Speed matters. Card disputes, gift card freezes and wire recalls all depend on acting fast. The full steps, deadlines and a dispute letter template are in how to get money back after a psychic scam. Warn your relative that people who have been scammed are often contacted by fake “recovery” services that charge a fee; the FTC advises that legitimate organisations do not charge to recover money.

Looking After the Relationship (and Yourself)

• Keep visiting and calling. Isolation is the exploiter’s strongest tool. Regular contact is protective in itself.
• Fill the gap the reader filled. Often the reader offered daily attention, comfort and certainty. Company, routine, community activities, faith groups and grief support can meet some of those needs.
• Offer a respectful alternative if they want readings. If your relative enjoys readings and has capacity, readings through an established platform at a listed rate, with a monthly budget, are far safer than a private reader. Our guide to choosing a reader covers the warning signs.
• Expect setbacks. People often go back to an exploiter at least once. Stay calm and stay close.
• Get support for yourself. Caring for someone in this situation is stressful. Caregiver support groups and a counsellor can help.

FAQs

My parent is giving a lot of money to a psychic. What can I do?

Start by separating choice from exploitation: an adult may spend their own money on readings. Warning signs of exploitation include curse or danger claims tied to payments, escalating fees, secrecy, private payment methods such as gift cards or wires, and bills going unpaid. Talk about the money rather than their beliefs, help them add a trusted contact to their accounts, and report suspected exploitation to Adult Protective Services, local police or the National Elder Fraud Hotline.

Can I stop my elderly parent from paying a psychic?

Not directly if they have capacity: competent adults have the right to make their own spending decisions. You can help them put safeguards in place with their agreement, such as account alerts, a trusted contact person, spending limits or a second signer. If you believe they lack capacity or are under undue influence, speak to an elder law attorney and report suspected exploitation to Adult Protective Services.

Why do psychic scammers target older people?

Older adults are more likely to have savings, to live alone, to be grieving, and in some cases to be experiencing early cognitive changes that make fraud harder to spot. Research has found that missed bill payments can appear years before a dementia diagnosis. In 2024, people over 60 reported nearly $4.9 billion in fraud losses to the FBI.

What is a trusted contact person?

Someone a bank or brokerage customer names so the firm can contact them if it suspects financial exploitation or cannot reach the customer. US brokerages must make reasonable efforts to collect one under FINRA Rule 4512. The trusted contact cannot make transactions; they can only be told about concerns.

Where do I report a psychic exploiting an elderly person?

In the US, report to Adult Protective Services, local police and the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311. In the UK, contact Report Fraud, the council’s adult safeguarding team or the Hourglass helpline (0808 808 8141). In Canada, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and police. In Australia, contact Scamwatch and 1800 ELDERHelp.

How do I talk to my mother about a psychic without starting a fight?

Lead with care and curiosity, not ridicule. Say you are not judging her beliefs but are worried about the money and how she seems. Ask open questions about what the reader has said and what the payments are for, and point to specific warning signs such as secrecy or curse claims rather than arguing about whether psychics are real.

Sources

Risk and research

1. Nicholas, L. H. et al. (2021). Financial presentation of Alzheimer disease and related dementias. JAMA Internal Medicine, 181(2), 220–227. PubMed 33252621
2. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (2025). 2024 IC3 Annual Report. ic3.gov; AARP, FBI report: fraud losses 2024. aarp.org
3. US Department of Justice (2016). Justice Department permanently shuts down international psychic mail fraud scheme. justice.gov

Protective tools

4. FINRA. Frequently asked questions regarding FINRA rules relating to financial exploitation of seniors. finra.org
5. FINRA (2017). Regulatory Notice 17-11: Financial exploitation of seniors. finra.org
6. FINRA. Senior Safe Act fact sheet. finra.org
7. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Managing Someone Else’s Money guides. consumerfinance.gov

Reporting and support

8. Office of Justice Programs. National hotline helps victims of elder financial fraud. ojp.gov
9. Hourglass (UK). wearehourglass.org
10. GOV.UK (2025). Report Fraud: new service from City of London Police. gov.uk
11. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca