Scams and con artists
Scams and con artists can be in any field.
Unfortunately, ghost hunting is especially vulnerable to people whose primary interests are financial gain, celebrity status, or power.
- I’m not talking about people who mistakenly think they’re more skilled than they really are.
I mean the people who look you straight in the eye and tell you lies for personal and/or professional gain.
If you join a group with a self-styled guru, or a con artist works his (or her) way into your circle of friends, here’s what you need to know.
The first rule is: Never give or loan money to anyone without getting a receipt. I don’t care how nice the person seems. If it’s a loan, have the terms in writing before you give the person anything.
And, never give or loan money that you can’t afford to lose.
Keep your money safe. Then, look for other signs of a scam or a con artist.
- Con artists are charming.
They’re usually fun to be with. They tell great stories, and they seem to have lived the kind of life you’d like to live. They seem to be successful or they look like rising stars. Around them, you may feel as if you have a connection with greatness. - Con artists collect friends as quickly as possible.
This is partly because they’ll lose so many of them, as people become suspicious of what’s going on. But, the larger their apparent entourage or fan club, the more you’re likely to believe their extravagant claims. You aren’t likely to suspect that dozens (or hundreds) of friends and fans have been deceived, too. - Con artists seem to have dazzling credentials.
Their friends are famous people. Their degrees (or titles) are impressive. They talk about their past experiences and current connections, pending TV shows and events they’re planning. Their claims are so extravagant, you think, “Who’d make this up?” - Con artists separate people so they don’t swap notes.
A con artist leads you to believe that you’re one of the only people he likes and trusts. He’ll say that he doesn’t trust this person and then that one. Following his advice, you’ll stay away from them, too, even if you used to be good friends. The con artist knows that, if you all got together and exchanged stories, his lies might be exposed.
The con artists’ larger-than-life claims lead to their downfall. They simply can’t stop lying for very long… and they’re often lying on a grand scale.
It’s vital to check the person’s claims and credentials. Check all of them, not just the first few that he or she mentions. (I’ll talk about the con artist as if the person is male. However, female con artists can be just as prevalent as male con artists.)
Types of claims
If someone claims to have written books in this field, that’s an easy one to check: Go to Amazon.com and see his (or her) author page. Check his (or her) name as an author in any Books in Print listing at your local bookstore or public library. Or, ask who his publisher is, and call them.
If someone claims to speak at national or international events, a quick Google search should tell you when and where the person was one of the main speakers or celebrity guests.
Let’s say that he claims a degree or a title, such as ‘doctor’ or ‘reverend’. Ask what kind of degree (or title) it is, and where it came from. Anyone can become a legally ordained minister, for little or no expense, through the Universal Life Church and similar organizations. http://www.themonastery.org/?destination=ordination
Some con artists claim far loftier credentials. If it’s a degree from a university, you can check the alumni records office to find out if the person is actually a graduate of the school, college or program. Many schools proudly post online a list of some of their graduates. You can also use classmate directories, online, for more information.
If someone claims a British (or other) hereditary title, you can check Wikipedia. It lists the qualified holders of hereditary titles, including their actual surnames, and when the title was created.
Here’s one page at Wikipedia, listing those who hold the British title of Marquess: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_marquessates_in_the_peerages_of_the_British_Isles
If the person’s title is vague but you know their legal surname, David Beamish maintains a list of members of the United Kingdom peerage from 1801 to the present day, and he has indexed it.
It’s online at http://website.lineone.net/~david.beamish/peerages_az.htm and other pages at that website.
If the person claims to have worked with or for a celebrity, you can confirm that. Find the official website of the celebrity, and contact the person’s manager or press agent. Ask if the celebrity has worked for or with the person who’s making the claim.
Frankly, anyone can get their photo taken with a celebrity. Some celebs charge a fee for it; others regard it as publicity. Either way, posing next to a famous (or even somewhat-famous) paranormal investigator does not mean they’re working together… or even friends.
If the person claims to have been a paranormal investigator for many years, there should be clear evidence of that, online. Even if the person didn’t have his own website, other people will have mentioned the person, at least in reference to a case, a “ghost story” or an investigation.
You can see how long ago they registered their domain name by using a WhoIs lookup.
I’m not being critical of people who are new to the field; many of them are excellent researchers. The focus of this article is on the lies that reveal a scam or a con artist.
If someone actually got into ghost research a year and a half ago but is claiming “many years” in the field… watch out!
If someone suggests that they’ve been on a TV or radio show, or appeared on stage, you can check that online. Go to the show’s official website and search for the person’s name.
(Remember that anyone can add a comment after an article or in a forum, making it appear that someone was in a show. You’re looking for official cast lists and official lists of the guest stars on the show.)
Here are a few links to TV shows:
- Ghost Hunters (Also see TAPS official website)
- Ghost Hunters International
- Most Haunted [UK] (The cast list is also at Wikipedia.)
- Paranormal State
- Dead Famous
- MTV ‘Fear’ (not ‘Fear Factor’)
- VH1 ‘Celebrity Paranormal’
- Ghost Whisperer
The truth will set you (and maybe a few other people) free
These are just a few of the claims that people can make, trying to find a shortcut to fame or fortune. Sometimes they’re interested in money. Others are more interested in being famous, or feeling a sense of power or control over others.
Thanks to the Internet, almost any person’s claims and credentials can be verified using independent sources.
Don’t assume that the person is “too nice” to lie to you, or their friends are too bright to be conned. The more impressive the person’s stories and claims, and the more convincingly they tell them… the more you must verify them, independently.
If the person is a con artist, it’s better to find out early. Thankfully, scams and con artists are a tiny minority. (To quote the movie, Grease, “They’re amoebas on fleas on rats.”)
Avoid them when you can.
Though it’s important to be watchful for scams and con artists, it’s also important to keep things in perspective.
The vast majority of people who work in paranormal fields are like you. They’re kind, sincere and genuine. You’ll meet many of them at events, investigations, and in the field. They deserve your friendship and admiration, and they make ghost hunting even more personally rewarding.
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This article is part of my free course, Introduction to Ghost Hunting.
It was originally designed as a four-week course sent via email, but now there’s an online version as well: 24 webpages. Four PDFs. Four MP3 recordings. (The online version contains everything except the Certificate of Completion. To receive that, people have to register, but it’s still free.)
The most important articles from that course will be featured among the regular Hollow Hill pages, as well, so that people can search (and find) the information that they need.
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Hello Fiona! You author many great articles, but this one “Scams And Con Artists” shows us that you have the back of the paranormal community. By you posting this article, it shows that you are a concerned individual within this community! Thanks for the information. I have to say that had it been posted a few months earlier, I would be better off now! Thanks again for a wonderful article. Tom Lynch
Thanks, Tom! Like you, I wish I’d known the warning signs — and paid more attention to them — months ago.
I found more information this morning, at the Wikipedia entry for author and researcher Robert Cialdini:
So many of these points apply to tactics I’ve seen and heard about, lately… it’s chilling. By being aware of our vulnerabilities, we can protect ourselves from the occasional person (or people, since they often work in tandem) who may try to take advantage of how welcoming, inclusive and supportive we are in the paranormal community.
Awsome article Fiona! It’s getting really sad for paranormal researchers right now. I emailed a very popular theater near-by about an investigation. They were all for it, and I wanted to meet with the director to discuss a schedule. He didn’t reply for about a month. When I got one, he claimed he and his staff discussed that they were going to start charging 30 bucks per person as a “ghost tour”. He also made sure to include the link to the page discussing it. Ironically, it made sure to mention that the concession stand would be open. Go figure!
Thanks for the comment, Scott. The combination of a difficult economy and the fact that ghost hunting is a fading fad… too many people are trying to squeeze every last cent from it. Unfortunately, that’s driving people away from ghost hunting even faster. Even some serious researchers are taking time away from this work, until the madness subsides.
Regarding the theater: $30 a person is far better than the $1500+/night that I’ve heard requested by some locations. That said, the shoe seems to be on the wrong foot.
If they’re putting on a show, it’s fine to charge for the entertainment. (Opening the concession stand..? That sounds like a performance, to me!)
However, if they want serious researchers to investigate and confirm (or refute) the hauntings, the sites should be paying the researchers, not the other way around.
It’d be like charging an entertainment fee for a doctor to examine someone, to diagnose symptoms.
I’ll be glad when this silliness concludes, and people once again regard parapsychology as an important field of study, not a fast route to fame and fortune.
Very well written ! I wish there was more info for the general public on this topic and the paranormal .People are falling victim and it makes us that have a passion for this hard to expose the field to the skeptics.
Thanks, Rich!
I wish more people would speak out about this, too. But, in some cases, they may not realize what’s going on. And, when they do figure it out… they’re embarrassed to admit that they were fooled.
The cons can be clever. I recently read an autobiography of an aspiring ghost hunter, who may have written his story to create an authentic-sounding resume. In one chapter, he talks about his dramatic encounter with a ghost in 2001. However, when I checked his story online… well, the encounter took place, but according to others who were there, it happened in 2004. (When I see one attempt to enhance a CV/resume, I suspect that there may be others.)
That’s the kind of subterfuge we have to look for, now. Parts of the stories will ring true, but others won’t. All I can recommend is: Check every reference, and every aspect of it.
As of late 2009, con artists mistakenly think that there’s a lot of money to be made in this field. (They’re wrong. Those of us who are serious about paranormal research generally rely on alternate income sources, so we can provide help free of charge.)
Once the con artists realize that this ghost hunting isn’t a get-rich-quick opportunity, they either move to another area (where their reputations aren’t so tarnished) or they leave the field altogether.
For as long as ghost-related TV shows remain popular, I think we’ll have to deal with this kind of nonsense. It’s not just the opening that this gives to skeptics, but the number of people who lose their faith in the entire paranormal field. Too many good researchers walk away from this work, disgusted.
Those of us who are legitimate paranormal researchers must take extreme measures to distance ourselves from those who are in the field for money, power or both. And, I think we need to speak out about it, so more people realize that many of us are sincere.
In time, the worst of these problems will fade away. They’ll leap on the next popular trend.
I think many of us are looking forward to that day.
Fiona – Realty TV is a genre of a television show and they are filmed a certain way. Most are scripted in some form or another because the alternative is not good – leaving people to their own devises to say whatever they want. That would never do – IE: JON & KATE PLUS 8 – that memory leaves scars. But in this case of all these paranormal shows – I have grown fond of saying that they are “para-sites” and the amount of crap shows out there – Ghost Hunters included is overwhelming. We’ve stopped watching especially since some of these shows are staging their paranormal events. Money is the root of this evil – sad but true.
Hi Cathy,
It’s good to see you here! As always, your phrasing is clever; “para-sites” is a brilliant term for what’s going on with many ghost-related reality shows.
I’m not sure what to say about some aspects of the “Ghost Hunters” show. Have you spent much time with Jason & Grant? If you have, you know they’re 100% on-the-level, so if anything is being faked for their show, they’re not part of that scam.
But, this all adds up to why I don’t watch the ghost-related TV shows very often, except to see how bad they’ve gotten, now & then.
The love of money — as well as greed of any kind, including just the need for attention or power — can cause people to make lesser choices. With the amount of money involved at the top of the food chains that produce TV shows… well, that’s a lot of incentive to produce popular — not necessarily good — TV shows.
Sincerely,
Fiona