Energy Workers - Separating the Imposter from the Authentic.

October 27, 2022

Energy Workers - Separating the Imposter from the Authentic.

Psychics, mediums and healers claim to have or believe they have the extrasensory perception (ESP). ESP is defined as a 'sixth' sense. However, Psychics and mediums define it as a mixture of 'Clairs' outlined in our FAQ and other blogs. Some claim to be able to 'read energy', see a person's aura, or hear and see Spirit, 'higher beings' such as angels and guides. There is an underpinning belief that both Spirit and people have an 'electromagnetic field' that can't be seen with the naked eye. Only some psychics claim to have 'clairs', (that is, a variety of 'intuitive senses. You can read more about the clairs in our blog explaining them. Some workers will define themselves simply as Card Readers and intuitive, while the mediums and spirit communicators usually claim to have a full range of 'Clairs'. 

An Australian 'Whistleblower' alleged that when he was working on a Psychic telephone line employed as a psychic, his employer had no regard for the quality and integrity of service delivery. He alleged that the employer knowingly used frauds, and encouraged them to extend their calls or to fumble through them. The idea is that if the Customer became frustrated and hung up, the business would still generate income through the exorbitant per-minute rate. 

This kind of employer conduct and customer exploitation has led to the great controversy around the sale of services by Psychics and Mediums because the 'industry' is said to be rife with imposters. (Sydney Criminal Lawyers, 2016). it is believed that Psychic fraud is underreported to authorities. The scammers get away with their activities because victims are too embarrassed to admit they used the services, believed what they were told, or both. 

Genuine Psychics and Mediums are placed in a difficult position to prove to the public that they ARE gifted. Psychics experience negative impacts because of scammer and fraudulent behaviour. The misconduct, unprofessional conduct, scams, dishonest behaviour and exploitation within the industry have led to public pressure to regulate the sector (Mangan, 2008). 

Genuine Psychics claim to have experienced social exclusion since the Spanish inquisition hundreds of years ago (if not before). The scammers undermine the professional and personal integrity of the Psychics and Energy Workers, compounding social stigma. Conduct by people claiming to be psychic does not help build a professional reputation - for example, 

 'Psychics' took each other to court in Australia in 2021 to settle an online social media dispute (O'Neil, 2021). This case demonstrated that people can (at best) have gifts but clearly little maturity, less wisdom, and no understanding of ethics. The two "Psychics" had built their businesses on social media during the Covid lockdown. They were clearly not a member of any professional association. 

Ethical Conduct

So, the question remains – how do we determine, the genuine from the imposters? What identifies responsible use from Irresponsible use? Historically, there have been two primary rules for the accountable and authentic psychic: 

1. Leave the Customer feeling better than before the reading. 
2. Do no harm to the Customer (or those around them). 

Ultimately it is the seeker's responsibility to be discerning. However, we know that often the person will seek services at a time when their judgement may be impaired and when they are emotionally vulnerable. The industry does attempt to self-regulate -through the provision of a Code of Ethics. All REALM platform workers are bound by the Code of Ethics. 

The International Psychic Association Code of Ethics states:

1. Psychic advice should be given as responsibly and accurately as possible. 
2. Advice should be devoid of judgment and in the client's best interests and not imply 100% accuracy. 
3. Readings may reference legal and medical issues but must not include legal, health or other professional advice. 
4. Services fees should be reasonable.
5. The privacy of the client is to be respected and treated confidentially.
6. All individuals have free will. Psychic advisors should not attempt to influence the client against their will or make promises such as spell casting and promising that the spells will affect others. 
7. Psychics will not promote or offer to remove curses or use other maleficent magic. 
8. Psychic services should only be given to a person over 18 unless permission is provided by a parent or guardian. 

In Australia – there is the additional statement that:

1. Healers and service providers will not make outlandish claims about their abilities, such as being able to cure physical ailments, tell a client to stop taking prescribed medication, or replace their professional medical, health, legal or financial services with the information given during a consultation. 

Psychic and energy workers will NOT tell a customer they need to return for a series of treatments.

Identifying Psychic and Medium Misconduct. 

Mangan positioned that some psychics are predatory - preying on the vulnerable public who are suffering, and there is a lack of humane care toward them. In 2008 the state of Victoria had seventy complaints about psychic misconduct and violations of consumer protections. Arguments against the psychic industry are that damage can be either intentional or unwitting and can create enormous hardship for the victims. (In Australia - the Customer can formalise a complaint and sue for remedy as part of Consumer protection.). Examples of misconduct that creates harm include: 

1. A woman whose husband had committed suicide. In her grief, she attended a "Spirit Medium' fortnightly 'so she could feel closer to him", paying for the service. The process was harmful because she psychologically became locked in her trauma, could not heal or move on from her grief, and attended the same Medium for several years. Her failure to heal impacted her family and social relationships and she was 'unable to move on. The claims were that the woman became so dependent on the Medium that she could not make a decision until she received a 'spiritual message'. This is an example of unethical conduct and not necessarily a scammer or fraudster. The authentic Psychic sees their role as supporting and empowering the client to health, well-being, and independent decision-making. At best, this is a case of significant financial exploitation of a vulnerable client in her hour of grief. (The wise Psychic states this type of professional behaviour breaches Spiritual law and carries Karma for the psychic). 
2. Another case refers to the family of a woman believed to be murdered and whose body has never been recovered. There are reports that families in these circumstances are recipients of 'benevolent and will meaning' contacts from Psychics and mediums with cryptic clues on where the bodies may be retrieved (but aren't). These contacts impede the survivors' capacity to heal and move on as they continue to relive the primary trauma. This usually happens when a psychic is opening to their gifts and does not understand the 'wise use' or responsible use of psychic gifts. Key message: if the psychic is NOT approached by the family, they should not initiate contact with them. We are informed that if the connection is meant to be made, 'Spirit' will create a meeting and opportunity to deliver the message. If that opportunity does not appear, then they (the Psychic) are not the designated messenger. If Spirit wants the message delivered - they will find the perfect messenger for delivery. 

Frauds and Scammers

Fraudulent and scamming behaviour present in different ways. Australian scamwatch refers to the following:

Email scams are spam emails stating that they have pulled your cards or have a message for you, and if you don't pay for the offer, you can expect misfortune. They may offer a protective talisman for purchase or remove hexes and curses (or even put a hex or curse on you if you don't buy or do what they want). (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, [ACCC], 2022) Report them to ACCC as a scam and Telecommunications as email spam, and DON'T FALL FOR IT. 

Phone Scams- A 'whistleblower from the phone line industry outed himself and his perception of his employer back in 2013. He confessed he was not psychic or gifted and alleged his employer knew that few of his staff had psychic ability. The whistleblower claimed that the phone workers were encouraged to drag out calls (paid for by the minute), and encourage the client to talk about themselves so that the worker could 'reflect back to them. He said he was motivated to 'work the lines' because it was 'easy money sitting at home and sounded like fun. Still, the workers' pay rate was meagre, so he eventually stopped working the phone lines. REALM has screening mechanisms in place (but are not infallible and, therefore, cannot make 100% guarantees or assurances around quality. Equally, workers cannot make 100% guarantees themselves. REALM keeps its cost to a minimum as part of the provision of 'reasonably priced services. Consultant Terms of Use penalties for financially exploiting customers by 'dragging out calls unnecessarily). 

Fraud: Landy reported in 2013 that frauds were financially exploiting their customers by instilling fear. They would then offer services at exorbitant rates to remove the fearful situations they had created for their customers. Some customers spent tens of thousands of dollars on their services and sometimes borrowed money to have 'curses removed. This conduct is easily identifiable when measuring against the Psychic Code of Ethics to signify fraud. 

Quandaries

The laws are grey - the consumer also has a responsibility to be 'discerning', and often the Psychic genuinely attempts to be helpful. Sadly, grief often clouds many people's decision-making, so even with the best of intentions, there can be a communication breakdown and poor decision-making by the Customer. One case that comes to mind (and remains unreported) is the case of a customer who made life-changing decisions based on her perception of 'psychic guidance and advice'. She made a drastic life decision when she was under extreme duress. She has not reported the matter to authorities because she recognises her responsibility for the events. However, she now has to work on releasing guilt and forgiving herself. 

Her case relates to attending a psychic for advice about a high-risk surgery recommended for her child diagnosed with a terminal illness. The surgery was 'state of the art' and essentially 'trials' and carried fatality risks and no improvement in life quality post-surgery if the child survived. Certain conditions had to be in place for the surgery to go ahead. The mother stated that after watching the psychic performing on TV and reading his feedback and reviews, he was the 'best person to tell her what to do. She made an appointment, paid an exorbitant fee, and was on a six-month waitlist. Even before meeting with him, her logic and cognition were impaired at this stage. Our Authentic psychics state that: 

1. Spirit does not tell a person what they should or should not do - they provide information on how they can manage their life post-decision making. 
2. Predictions can change depending on circumstances. They are usually not 'set in concrete and fixed'. 
3. EVen if the prediction says something - the Customer has free will and is encouraged to follow their own guidance. 
4. Did the mother clarify with the medicos if six months' wait time would impact the child's health and reduce the chance of surgery success? Was the mother in denial about her son's impending death (a process of grief? ) Psychic code of ethics states," readings do not replace medical advice". 

Delusion

The mother stated that the medicos deferred surgery multiple times over the next nine months. Her child continued to experience deteriorating health, and the conditions were not conducive to surgery because of the risk of death during surgery. Medicos attempted to persuade the family not to go ahead with the surgery because of the increased surgery risk. The mother persisted and convinced her child to have the surgery. She was deluding herself and her child that the reading she had received nine months earlier remained relevant. The surgeons performed the surgery, and the child passed away and only became lucid for a few brief moments before passing - and she wasn't there at the time.  

Was the psychic irresponsible and guilty of misconduct? As a professional and recognised psychic, it is unlikely that this psychic would not adhere to the Psychic Code of Ethics. Ethical Psychics will ensure that they tell the Customer, that predictions are never one hundred per cent and that they can change depending on environmental and other factors. Ethical Psychics will also say to the Customer that "psychic readings do not replace appropriate medical or professional advice". Do we blame the mother for trying to extend her child's life and deluding herself and her child about a positive outcome? I don't believe so. At the same time, while the child's terminal diagnosis, the mother is locked in more trauma and grief because she blames herself for his early demise. Realistically and practically, if the mother had not tried, she would have blamed herself for 'not doing everything in her power' to try and extend his life. Grieving is a complex matter. 

Industrial Regulation

The idea of Industrial regulating sounds appealing but raises questions about regulating faith and belief. How does a person control a spiritual industry? The unethical will always find a way around the rules. At REALM, part of our commitment to our customers and consultants is the provision of authentic workers and fair work conditions to our workers, including fair remuneration. For example, other platforms may charge consultants up to 50% commission on their gross income. REALM keeps our rates and commissions low. as part of our commitment to ethical service delivery combined with empowerment for both the Customer and the Consultant. 

Our Consultants are obligated to adhere to the Psychic Code of Ethics. 

Our customers are encouraged to report any deviations from the Code by Consultants on our platform to REALM to REALM Management. 

REALM Customers are also encouraged to report matters to the authorities if they believe they cannot gain a suitable resolution after contacting the Platform management.  

Equally – we provide content to our Customers on how to get the best value for money when connecting with our Platform workers.

References

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, [ACCC], (2022). Types of Scams: Psychic and Clairvoyant. Retrieved from

https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/buying-or-selling/psychic-clairvoyant

Landy, S. (2013, November 20). Herald Sun. Victorians being fleeced in scams by pretend psychics. Retrieved from https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/victorians-being-fleeced-in-scams-by-pretend-psychics/news-story/dd8584e2f141d7fb3dc76072415d1978

Mangan, J. (2008, May 4). The Age: Psychics may face regulations to tell which is witch. Retrieved from https://www.theage.com.au/national/psychics-may-face-regulations-that-help-tell-which-is-witch-20080504-ge71dv.html

Noll, E. (2010, May 8). ABC News. Psychic hotline secrets: Clairvoyance or Hoax? Retrieved from

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/psychic-reveals-tricks-trade/story?id=10590096