Ontario woman scammed out of $11,000 by Texas psychic she met on TikTok
An Ontario woman says she was scammed out of $11,000 after months spent working with a Texas psychic she met on TikTok following the death of her stepfather.
The 21-year-old from Toronto named Marie, who asked only to be identified by her first name, said she was seeking spiritual healing and guidance on what to do with the inheritance her stepfather left her when she connected with the psychic.
“She was like, yeah, there's so much negativity around you. I’m seeing 666, so we have to turn it into 999 and that's where she got the $9,000 from."
Marie said the psychic readings cost about $20 in the beginning, but they quickly escalated to hundreds of dollars each session and more over the next two months.
“Every time she would do a reading the price would go up. She would say I need more money to get rid of all this negativity, like I need to fix you,” said Marie.
Marie ended up sending about $11,000, in part because the psychic said she needed to remove negativity from the money and once it was removed she would send all the funds back, but she never did.
“It makes me angry because I put my trust into someone and how can I be so dumb to trust a complete stranger and give them everything that my stepdad left for me,” said Marie.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has seen an increase in psychic scams and Jessie St-Cyr with the BBB said more psychic mediums are reaching out to young people using social media platforms.
"Just be mindful there are a lot of fake psychic mediums on TikTok and Instagram as well," said St-Cyr.
The Government of Canada also has a warning on its website that states anyone seeking psychic services should be skeptical, safeguard your money and personal information, don’t respond to psychic mailings, emails or messages and look out for family members and friends.
"Definitely, if psychics are asked for money and they keep coming back and are asking for more money, that should be a huge red flag," said St-Cyr.
Marie said the psychic she sent the $11,000 to no longer responds to her messages and she wanted to share what happened to her to warn others.
“Because I know there are people like me out there that trust people very easily and they can get taken advantage of too,” said Marie.
CTV News Toronto reached out to the psychic in Texas and she said she would like to resolve the issue with Marie, but she never did.
While the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says there have been hundreds of victims of psychic scams over the years, only about five per cent are ever reported.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.