Some people may argue that all fortune-telling services are a scam. The modern fortune-telling fraud uses cold-reading skills to detect their client’s troubles. Rather than trying to genuinely help them, they use this as an opportunity to make money.

The fortune-teller informs their client that he or she is cursed and that the curse can only be broken after paying a large fee. Once the fee is paid, the fortune-teller usually does a fake spell over the person, supposedly setting them free from the curse.