And why wouldn’t I be I hear you ask? Where else would I be if not here?
Well, lost in the shadowy darkness actually.
Nothing to do with writing really, but something interesting has been happening to me. I’ve been getting messages . . . from the other side. Cue Twilight Zone music.
I belong to various survey and points gathering things on the web and I was offered 200 points if I’d register with a visionary medium. So I registered. Where’s the harm? I thought. What do I have to lose? What the hey?
So let’s begin by saying I brought this upon myself. But perhaps there are people out there, desperately worried and unhappy people (rather than greedy for points people like myself) who will respond to an invitation for a free reading out of desperation.
The emails began to arrive. Guess what – this woman is my best friend. She has dreams about me. She works All Night Long on my charts.
At first the emails promised me wealth and riches and £70 – all I had to do was pay her some money. Then she offered me £80 . . . then £90.
I decided to unsubscribe myself. Blow the points. I could do without them anyway.
Still the emails kept coming.
And when offering me wealth and riches didn’t work she wrote to tell me that I was under psychic attack. Surely I must have noticed my luck had been going from bad to worse lately? Well yes, but isn’t that happening to everyone at the moment what with the recession and all?
Still I wouldn’t pay her to save me. So offering me money had failed, scaring me had failed what next? Three lucky dates – I would get large amounts of money paid into my bank on three dates, but only if I knew the secrets . . . which of course this woman who cares so much about me would tell me . . . when I paid her.
Three or four emails came with the dates and still I wouldn’t pay.
On Tuesday morning I got the most disturbing one so far. Something Very Dangerous was going to happen to me in three days. I’ve got the evil eye upon me. I’m being victimised and what’s more, this evil eye business could cancel out the good fortune that she’d promised me earlier. Eeek!
In her dreams I was calling out for help and she reached out and tried to save me, but I slipped from her grasp. Well at least she tried. What a wonderful woman.
She’s going to perform a magic ritual for me because if she doesn’t I may lose out on the chance of winning one of the biggest jackpots ever. And all I have to do is pay her £19, yes you heard it folks, £19 instead of the usual £139. Bargain!
The amount has been dropping steadily. But as she cares so much about me will she eventually offer her services for free?
The thing is I am naturally paranoid. I do feel victimised. And yes my dears there are times when I feel that the evil eye is upon me, but don’t we all feel like that sometimes?
Okay I can laugh about it. I know about evil eyes and how they work and if you are in to such things then you know that it brings more harm on the sender than the receiver.
I have no doubt that there are people out there who will be getting these worrying emails and reaching for their credit cards and I think that’s sad. I would suggest that if you are worried by something like this and tempted to pay the fee to be saved – don’t.
If you’ve the money to spare, give it to charity instead, give it to the homeless guy sitting on the corner, buy some food for the cat’s home – at least then your money will do some good and who knows, your gesture may bring you good karma.
I looked up this so called medium on Google and the first link was to a complaints site. And what do you know? Someone had posted up an email from her which was identical to one of those she sent me and what’s more . . . several people said they’d had the same one and worryingly, a lot of people have been frightened into paying up.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/quottaraquot-lttaratara-mediumcomgt-c236172.html
I think it’s despicable.
And it sounds illegal, Teresa - after all she's menacing people, to say nothing of pestering them. I admire you for handling it so well (although I'm sure it's been quite freaky for you) - but as you say, others have given in and paid this woman who is nothing more than a con artist. I think my anger would have got the better of me by the second or third demand - but sending her a response telling her where to get off would probably have done no good! Publicising her scam and her threats is probably the best bet, so well done - tell everyone you can!
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right. You've handled this really well because you're a strong person, but lots of people out there aren't strong and have got serious problems. They are the people who pay up and also the people who can probably least afford to. It's horrible - thanks for exposing it.
ReplyDeleteThat's outrageous, Teresa! What a horrible, nasty, vindictive, woman! Evil eye indeed! I'd tell the police because it's harrassment - trading standards or whatever they are called these days would be interested as would the Inland Revenue is it's British or whatever the equiv is abroad - you can bet your life she doesn't pay tax on her earnings.
ReplyDeleteShe earns her living by scaring and bullying people. I don't need to be a psyhcic to know what's going to happen to her if she carries on!!
Ohh some people, Teresa! Put her out of your mind. She's just an idiot. Bit I know what you mean. You're right though that sort of stuff is only powerful if you let it be.
Has Lynne got a spell she can use to get rid of the woman and her negative energy?
Lots of hugs.
Julie xx
You're right, other people could easily be conned into parting with cash - or worse not be able to pay and end up so desperately worried it made them ill. I doubt she'd have left you alone even if you did pay the £19.
ReplyDeleteI think you should report this to the police, if you haven't already. There might not seem to be much they can do, but if they get enough reports they might investigate.
It’s quite sickening when these things happen. So many people are fragile enough to be fearful of this kind of extortion and pay up. I don’t pass on those emails that threaten death and destruction if you don’t pass them on to twenty people in 1 minute or so. These are psychologically damaging to people going through bad times and just perpetuate the industry that extorts money from the vulnerable. It used to be some old Gypsy selling heather at your front door, seems they’ve gone all high tech! Ratbags. I’d visit that complaints site, but I’m scared she’ll trace me and start on me! Good for you for publishing that, someone may find it very useful and end the misery. Great post.
ReplyDeleteOh, Teresa, you should have saved that one for TaB! It was just like reading one of your stories - although I'm sure you'll do *something* with it.
ReplyDeleteI had something similar from an astrologer. I put her in my spam blocker and never heard from her again.
I wonder if she is able to predict that her income is going to drop drastically, very soon now? Marian H
ReplyDeleteYou could report it to the site that you would have earned the points from, as they wouldn't want to be associated with anything like that.
ReplyDeleteShocking.
ReplyDeleteI went to see a well known medium a few years back and was horrified at how he played on the grief of vulnerable people. He makes me cringe when I see him on telly.
XX
Overwhelmed I am by your support. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think this would be reportable (is that a word?) as a crime as I registered with her, so have only myself to blame.
Oh and I noticed on that complaints site that one of the ads that shows up is one for the site being complained about – bizarre! I wonder if any will tag up here – I hope not.
I checked the site that gave me the points and can’t find her on there so perhaps there have already been complaints.
And thank you for no one pointing out that I was a twit to sign up in the first place just for a few measly points which amount to (I think – bear in mind I am hopeless at maths even with my trusty calculator) 75 pence.
Suzanne – that is shocking, what happened to you. I spoke to a medium at a new age fayre a couple of months after my mum died and I gave her nothing to go on, but she shook me to my boots with what she said – not with anything awful, just accurate. She even wrote down a couple of self help books I should buy which she said would help me – seems she even “read” me pretty accurately.
Just 'cause you signed up, that doesn't make illegal scare tactics any less illegal. I'd still report her. Too many people will be ashamed that they were so gullible - you're angry. I'd report it on their behalf.
ReplyDeleteB is right. Threatening a person is never acceptable, you didn't sign up for that.
ReplyDeleteBeen there done that Teresa, that constant flow of emails can be quite disturbing. I am naturally a sceptic, but that is only because there are so many people who do this sort of thing, that it's hard to figure out if anyone really does have that sort of 'gift'.
ReplyDeleteBut like you, they started worrying me, but to find out what to do about these 'phychic attacks' and 'curses since I was in my teens' and so on, I was asked for exhorbitant sums of money.
In the end I listed them as spam, which of course they are, and after about two years they did stop coming in.
I can't remember why I got them in the first place, I think it might have just been the curiosity of a 'free reading' on some obscure site. Like you, because I signed up, I didn't feel I could report it, but I wish I had. It really sounds like the same tactics that were placed on me.
It's amazing how long they take to stop coming in. My spam box is full and occasionally I take a trip there to see what I've got. Everything from lotto wins to those emails requesting my help but there's multiple lots of each one. Gotta love that spam box :D
ReplyDeleteI'm flagging it up as spam from now on. Should have done that in the first place, but I wanted to see how it would go.
ReplyDelete