Scammed by a Psychic? How to Get Your Money Back, Where to Report It, and What the Law Says (2026)

The short answer. Stop paying, save every message and receipt, and contact whoever moved your money today. Credit card charges can be disputed with your card issuer (under US law, billing-error disputes generally need to reach the issuer within 60 days of the statement that first showed the charge). Gift cards, wire transfers and payment-app transfers can sometimes be frozen or reversed, but only if you report them fast. If you booked through a reading platform, use its complaint route first. Then report the fraud to the police and your national fraud service: ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US, Report Fraud in the UK, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, or Scamwatch in Australia. Ignore anyone who offers to recover your money for a fee: that is a second scam.

If you are here, you may be dealing with two things at once: the money, and the feeling of having been made a fool of. This guide deals with the money first, because the deadlines are real. But it is worth saying at the start: psychic fraud is a deliberate, practised script aimed at people going through something hard. In 2024 alone, Americans reported a record $16.6 billion in internet-enabled fraud losses to the FBI, and people over 60 lost the most, close to $4.9 billion (IC3 2024 Annual Report; AARP). You are in large company, and many of those people got some or all of their money back by acting quickly.

Step Zero: Was It a Scam, or a Reading You Didn’t Like?

This matters because it decides which route works. Reading platforms, card issuers and police all draw the same line: dissatisfaction is not fraud. A prediction that did not come true, or advice you disagreed with, is a customer-service issue. Deception and pressure to take your money are fraud.

Probably a disappointing reading	Probably fraud
The reading was vague or generic	You were told you were cursed, hexed or blocked, then sold a removal
A prediction didn’t come true	You were promised a guaranteed outcome for a fee
The reader was slow or unhelpful	Fees kept escalating for “deeper work”
You were charged the listed per-minute rate	You were asked to pay privately, by gift card, wire or crypto
You disagreed with the advice	You were told to keep it secret or something bad would happen
	You handed over cash or valuables to be “cleansed” and never got them back
	You were charged for sessions you did not have or did not authorise

If your situation is in the left column, the guide to what to do when a prediction doesn’t come true and your platform’s satisfaction policy (covered below) are the right tools. If anything is in the right column, keep reading.

The First Hour

1. Stop all payments. No “final” fee, no deposit to “release” a reading, no payment to make the reader go away.
2. Cut off automatic charges. Remove your saved card from any site the reader used. If you shared card details directly with the reader, call your card issuer and ask for a new card number.
3. Secure your accounts. If you gave the reader any password, one-time code or remote access to a device, change those passwords now and turn on two-factor authentication.
4. Preserve the evidence. Screenshot every chat (including the reader’s profile and username), save emails and voicemails, keep receipts and gift cards, and download your bank and card statements.
5. Write a timeline. Date, what was said, what you paid, how you paid, and to whom. Police, banks and card issuers all ask for the same thing, and memories fade fast.
6. Don’t warn the reader. You are not obliged to tell them you are disputing a charge or going to the police. Warnings invite pressure, threats or deleted accounts.

Getting Your Money Back, by Payment Method

The route, deadline and odds depend almost entirely on how you paid. The table is the quick version; each method has its own section below with the details.

How you paid	Who to contact	Deadline	Realistic odds
Credit card	Card issuer	US: 60 days from the statement	Good
Debit card	Your bank	As soon as possible	Fair
Reading platform	Platform support	Often within days	Good, as credit
Gift cards	Card issuer	Immediately	Low to fair
Wire transfer	Transfer company or bank	Before pickup	Low after pickup
Payment app	App + linked bank	Immediately	Low if you sent it
Crypto	Exchange you used	Immediately	Very low
Cash or valuables	Local police	As soon as possible	Via restitution

Credit cards: your strongest tool

In the US, the Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute “billing errors”, which include charges for services that were not delivered as agreed. Send your dispute in writing so that it reaches the issuer within 60 days of the date the first statement with the charge was sent to you. The issuer must acknowledge it within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles (no more than 90 days), and it may not report you as delinquent over the disputed amount while it investigates (FTC guidance on the Fair Credit Billing Act).

A few practical points:

• Phone first, then write. Call to start the dispute, then follow up in writing. Use the template later in this guide.
• Describe deception, not disappointment. “The reader said I was cursed and charged me $1,800 for removal work that was never performed” is a dispute. “The reading was inaccurate” usually is not.
• Attach evidence. Screenshots of the curse claim, the escalating requests, threats or secrecy instructions.
• Separate the charges. If you paid in several transactions, list each date and amount.

Debit cards

Call your bank as soon as possible. US rules for electronic transfers protect you most strongly against unauthorised charges (for example, a reader who kept charging your card after you stopped), and they use a 60-day window from the statement that shows the charge. For payments you authorised, protection depends on your bank and the card network, so ask specifically whether they will raise a dispute with the merchant. Reporting early always helps.

If you booked through a reading platform

Major platforms bill each session at a listed rate and keep records, which helps you. Contact support first, before a card dispute, and include the reader’s name, the session dates and screenshots.

Each platform also runs a satisfaction policy for readings that disappoint. Based on the terms we reviewed in 2026, these are generally account credit, not cash refunds:

• Kasamba: up to $50 in account credit on a first reading that misses.
• Keen: up to $25 in Keen Dollars through its Satisfaction Guarantee.
• Purple Garden: up to $50 in credit if your first session with an advisor falls flat, requested within seven days and once per 30 days.

Check the current wording in each platform’s help centre, because terms change. For fraud (a reader asking you to pay privately, selling curse removal, or charges you did not authorise), ask support to escalate to their trust and safety team. That is a different conversation from a satisfaction request.

One caution: filing a chargeback against a platform over a session you did receive can lead to your account being suspended, and it does not stop a reader who took money from you off the platform. Use the platform’s complaint route for on-platform issues, and use the card dispute for the payments that went to the scammer.

Gift cards

Scammers like gift cards because they work like cash. The FTC’s advice is to contact the company that issued the card right away, tell them it was used in a scam, and ask whether the funds can be frozen and refunded. Keep the physical card and the receipt (FTC: What to do if you were scammed).

Wire transfers

Call the transfer company or your bank immediately, report the transfer as fraudulent and ask them to stop or reverse it. If the money has not been picked up, it can sometimes be recalled. After pickup, recovery is rare.

Payment apps (Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Zelle)

Report the payment to the app as fraud and ask for it to be reversed. If the app is linked to a card or bank account, report it to that card issuer or bank as well. Be aware that payments you sent yourself to a person, rather than to a business, often carry little or no purchase protection. PayPal’s purchase protection, for example, does not cover payments sent as “friends and family”.

Cryptocurrency

Crypto payments typically cannot be reversed. Report the transaction to the exchange or app you used anyway, along with the wallet address you sent to. Then report the fraud to the authorities below; exchanges sometimes freeze accounts linked to reported fraud.

Cash, jewellery and valuables

Many of the largest psychic fraud cases involve cash or jewellery handed over to be “cleansed” and never returned. Report it to local police as theft. Bring your timeline, photos or descriptions of the items, and any receipts. If there is a criminal case, ask about restitution.

Where to Report

Reporting rarely gets your money back on its own, but it builds the record that police and prosecutors use, and it supports your bank dispute. Report even if the amount is small.

United States

• Local police. Psychic fraud is usually charged as larceny, theft by deception or fraud. Ask for a report number.
• Federal Trade Commission: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: IC3.gov, if the fraud happened online, by text or through social media.
• Your state attorney general’s consumer protection office.
• US Postal Inspection Service, if mail was involved.
• National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311), run by the Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime, if you or the victim is 60 or older. A case manager helps you work out where to report, and the Justice Department notes that reporting some losses within three days can improve the chance of recovering them.

United Kingdom

• Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025: reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101 (GOV.UK).
• Citizens Advice consumer helpline, which passes cases to Trading Standards.

Canada

• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: 1-888-495-8501 or its online reporting system.
• Local police, especially if you lost money.

Australia

• Scamwatch (run by the ACCC) at scamwatch.gov.au, and ReportCyber for online crime.
• Local police.

Also report it to

• The platform, if you met the reader there, so they can remove the advisor.
• The social network or app, if the reader contacted you through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp or similar.

A Dispute Letter You Can Copy

Adapt this for your card issuer. Keep it factual and short.

Subject: Billing dispute, account ending [last four digits]

I am writing to dispute the following charges on my account:

• [Date], [merchant name as shown on statement], [amount]
• [Date], [merchant name], [amount]

These charges were obtained through misrepresentation. The merchant, who presented as a psychic adviser, told me [for example: that I was under a curse and that paid “removal work” was required to protect my family]. I was then asked for further payments of increasing size and told not to discuss the matter with anyone. The services described were not delivered as represented.

I have stopped all payments and reported the matter to [police department, report number] and to [FTC / Report Fraud / CAFC].

Enclosed are screenshots of the messages, my timeline of events and copies of my statements. Please investigate these charges as billing errors and credit my account.

[Name, address, phone, date]

Watch Out for the Second Scam

People who have lost money to fraud are frequently targeted again by “recovery” services. They may claim to be a law firm, a government agency, a consumer group or even a “spiritual” practitioner who can reverse the work and return your money. They ask for a fee up front, sometimes called a retainer, processing charge or tax.

The FTC’s position is straightforward: legitimate organisations do not charge a fee to recover a refund for you. Government agencies do not call to ask for payment to return your money. If someone contacts you out of the blue offering to recover funds, do not pay, and report them too (FTC: Refund and recovery scams).

Civil Options if the Amount Is Large

• Small claims court. If you know who the reader is and where they are, small claims court is a low-cost way to sue for repayment. Limits vary by state, from a few thousand dollars to around $25,000.
• Restitution in a criminal case. If prosecutors bring charges, ask the victim advocate about restitution. Courts ordered restitution in cases such as Sylvia Mitchell’s in New York.
• A consumer or fraud attorney. For large losses, a lawyer can advise on civil fraud claims and asset recovery. Many offer a free first consultation.

What the Law Says About Psychic Fraud

This is general information, not legal advice, but it explains why some cases are prosecuted and others are not.

United States: the reading is speech, the deception is the crime

US courts treat fortune telling as protected speech. In Nefedro v. Montgomery County (2010), Maryland’s highest court struck down a county ban on paid fortune telling, saying fraud should be handled through fraud laws instead (ACLU summary). So prosecutors generally do not need to prove that psychic ability is fake. They need to prove that the defendant took money through false statements or pressure.

• Theft and fraud laws carry the big cases. Rose Marks was convicted on 14 federal counts and sentenced in 2014 to just over 10 years for defrauding clients of more than $17.8 million (Broward Palm Beach New Times). Sylvia Mitchell was sentenced in New York to 5 to 15 years for grand larceny (AP via Fox News).
• Some states keep specific fortune-telling offences. New York Penal Law § 165.35 is a class B misdemeanor that covers taking a fee to tell fortunes or to remove curses, outside of pure entertainment (NY Senate). Pennsylvania’s 18 Pa.C.S. § 7104 is another, and was among the charges in a 2025 case involving an alleged $596,000 curse-removal scheme (WYMT / Gray News).
• Mail fraud reaches mass schemes. The Justice Department permanently shut down the “Maria Duval” psychic mailing operation in 2016; it alleged more than $180 million had been taken, largely from elderly and vulnerable people (DOJ).
• “For entertainment purposes only.” You will see this disclaimer on many reading services. It reflects the entertainment exceptions in statutes like New York’s, but a disclaimer does not license deception. Taking money by claiming a curse and threatening harm is not entertainment.

United Kingdom

The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 was repealed in 2008. Psychics and mediums now fall under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (replaced from 6 April 2025 by Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which keeps the same core tests), which prohibit misleading actions and aggressive commercial practices. Serious cases are prosecuted under the Fraud Act 2006.

Canada

The Criminal Code offence of pretending to practise witchcraft (section 365) was repealed in December 2018 (NPR). Psychic scams are now charged under the general fraud offence.

Australia

The Australian Consumer Law prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct in trade or commerce, and state criminal law covers obtaining property by deception.

Talking About It

Shame is what keeps people paying and what stops them reporting. If it helps:

• Tell one person. Saying it out loud breaks the secrecy the scam depended on.
• Remember how the script works. It was designed by practised people to work on someone at a vulnerable moment. That is not a character flaw. Our guide to what to do if a psychic says you’re cursed walks through the script stage by stage.
• Get support if you need it. Fraud victims often feel grief, anger and anxiety. In the UK, the Report Fraud victim service offers support; in the US, your local victim services office or the National Elder Fraud Hotline can point you to help. If you feel unable to cope, call or text 988 in the US.

Making Sure It Doesn’t Happen Again

You don’t have to give up readings to protect yourself. You just need a few fixed rules:

1. Only pay through a platform at a listed rate. Never pay a reader privately.
2. Never pay for curse, hex or blockage removal, or for spells.
3. Set a budget before the session and keep it.
4. Walk away from secrecy, urgency or threats.
5. Never buy gift cards, send wires or crypto for a reading.

13 things to know before you pay for a psychic reading turns these into a full checklist, and how to tell if an online psychic is legitimate covers the warning signs in detail. If you decide to book again, our Kasamba review explains how a large platform handles listed pricing, chat transcripts and complaints.

FAQs

Can I get my money back from a psychic who scammed me?

Often, if you act quickly and paid in a traceable way. Credit card charges have the best odds: in the US, dispute them in writing with your issuer within 60 days of the statement that showed the charge. Gift cards, wire transfers and payment-app transfers can sometimes be frozen if reported immediately. Cash and crypto are hardest to recover and usually depend on a police investigation.

Will a psychic platform refund me if the reading was bad?

Platforms don’t refund advice you disliked, but most offer a satisfaction policy, usually as account credit. Based on 2026 terms we reviewed, Kasamba offers up to $50 in credit on a first reading that misses, Keen up to $25 in Keen Dollars, and Purple Garden up to $50 in credit on a first session with an advisor. Fraud by a reader, such as asking you to pay privately, should be reported to the platform’s support for a separate review.

Where do I report a psychic scam?

In the US, report to local police, ReportFraud.ftc.gov, IC3.gov for online fraud, and your state attorney general; people 60 and over can call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311. In the UK, use Report Fraud (0300 123 2040) or Police Scotland on 101. In Canada, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501). In Australia, report to Scamwatch and ReportCyber.

Is psychic fraud illegal if they say it’s for entertainment?

A disclaimer does not make deception legal. In the US, fortune telling itself is protected speech, but taking money through false claims, such as a curse that requires paid removal, can be prosecuted as larceny, theft by deception or fraud. Some states, including New York and Pennsylvania, also have specific fortune-telling offences.

Someone contacted me offering to recover my money. Is it real?

Almost certainly not, if they want a fee first. Scammers buy lists of previous victims and pose as law firms, government agencies or consumer groups. The FTC says legitimate organisations do not charge you to recover a refund. Don’t pay, and report the contact.

How long do I have to dispute a credit card charge?

Under the US Fair Credit Billing Act, your written dispute needs to reach the card issuer within 60 days of the date the first statement containing the charge was sent to you. Card networks and issuers may allow longer in some cases, but don’t rely on it; dispute as early as you can.

Should I confront the psychic before reporting?

You don’t have to, and it often helps them more than you. A warning gives them time to delete accounts, move money or pressure you. Save the evidence, contact your payment provider and report first.

Sources

Money recovery

1. Federal Trade Commission. What to do if you were scammed. consumer.ftc.gov
2. Federal Trade Commission. Fair Credit Billing (consumer guide). govinfo.gov
3. Federal Trade Commission. Refund and recovery scams. consumer.ftc.gov

Reporting

4. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (2025). 2024 IC3 Annual Report. ic3.gov; AARP, FBI report: fraud losses 2024. aarp.org
5. Office of Justice Programs. National hotline helps victims of elder financial fraud. ojp.gov
6. GOV.UK (2025). Report Fraud: new service from City of London Police. gov.uk
7. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca

Cases and law

8. Broward Palm Beach New Times (2014). Rose Marks sentenced to ten years. browardpalmbeach.com
9. Associated Press via Fox News (2013). NYC psychic gets prison in 6-figure scam case. foxnews.com
10. US Department of Justice (2016). Justice Department permanently shuts down international psychic mail fraud scheme. justice.gov
11. WYMT / Gray News (16 October 2025). 2 charged in $600,000 psychic fortune-telling scheme. wymt.com
12. New York Penal Law § 165.35. nysenate.gov
13. Nefedro v. Montgomery County, 996 A.2d 850 (Md. 2010). mdcourts.gov; ACLU summary
14. NPR (19 December 2018). Ontario woman charged with ‘fake witchcraft’ 2 days before Canada scrapped that law. npr.org
15. Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (UK). legislation.gov.uk