Edmonton police are warning people about a con involving fraudulent astrologers and psychic readers after one local family was swindled out of $85,000.
Investigators say that hundreds of people have fallen victim to the fraudsters since April. Police say the suspects have duped their clients into believing that they have been cursed with black magic and witchcraft.
Many victims were "pressured" into handing over between $2,000 and $15,000 to the self-proclaimed fortune tellers, and one family lost as much as $85,000.
"They're in and out of town rather quickly. They're setting up shop; they're distributing posters and pamphlets in stores," Sgt. Steve Sharpe told CTV Edmonton.
They believe the con artists have since left the country.
"Often these individuals are on a visitor's visa and quickly disappear when they believe they could be caught," Const. Harpreet Jhinjar said in a statement released on Thursday.
Police say the suspects are from outside the country and came most recently from South Asia.
Family loses $85,000 to con artists posing as psychics | CTV News
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