There are many individuals today claiming to have psychic abilities. Some have made quite lucrative careers out of these claims. But are they real? Can they truly see the future? Do they actually have the ability to speak to the dead, foretell future events or recount past lives?

Many people claiming to be psychics are in fact frauds. But the same can be said about doctors, lawyers, politicians, salesmen, or people in any other profession.

One of the problems with determining which psychics are genuine and which are not is that there are no definitive guidelines for measurement. There are no professional policies or standardized practices to adhere to. There is no established governing body to report fraudulent psychics to.

Unlike other professions which have regulatory or licensing protocols to follow, there are no such standards for psychics. Anyone can call themselves a psychic and begin practicing professionally.

Fortunately there are some ways to determine whether a psychic may be misrepresenting themselves. A professional psychic relies heavily on reputation. A psychic with a bad reputation soon becomes a former psychic looking for a career change. Ask for references and testimonials of clients. A psychic with confidence in their abilities will have no problem with providing this information. Do your homework, ask others with an interest in psychics who they would recommend.

The best regulation of the psychic industry is word of mouth advertising. Frauds and con artists gain a bad reputation very quickly these days.Web sites like this one are a great place to share your experiences. If you feel that you have been swindled or conned by someone you should e-mail your story to us. We will be happy to make the information public.

One thing to watch out for is anyone, psychic or not, who tries to use fear, intimidation, dis-empowerment, uncertainty, doubt, or any of a range of similar tactics to get you to (a) hand over your power and (b) fork over your money. ( Usually both )

One of the oldest scams around is for a fortuneteller, or con artist claiming to be a fortune teller, to tell you that you are under a curse of some sort, that "evil spirits", or "bad mojo" is causing whatever sort of problem you may be having.

This of course leads to being asked for money. Usually being asked for money several times. The scammers try to convince you that they can fix your problems, remove a curse, but it will take more time, more readings and of course more money. This turns into a kind of blackmail with you acting as a sort of willing victim. Beware of this scenario. If you feel you are being conned and cheated, then you probably are.

Trust your own intuition in these cases and back out of this situation gracefully. You will be amazed at the change in attitude of the con-artist when they realize that you are no longer willing to hand over your money. Be strong and trust yourself to do the right thing.

Most of this is plain common sense, but many times, especially if people are under a lot of stress, plain common sense just isn't common.

Jeffry R. Palmer © 2006