Thursday, February 02, 2006

"Lucky" Astrology Scam

Recently my friend Hazel wrote me to ask about one of the Google Adsense advertisers that showed up on Astrology.ca. She wanted to know if I knew anything about her. I didn’t. Hazel told me about some of this particular astrologer’s … “marketing techniques”. As soon as I heard about it, I immediately blocked her URL on Astrology.ca. Unfortunately, I don’t always get this kind of feedback, and others who are pursuing fraudulent marketing tactics might slip through. So I would like to warn you about these kind of scams so you can judge them for yourselves.

This particular scam starts out as a “free reading”. When the victim responds, they do not get a "reading". Instead they are sent a standard form letter, which sort of pretends to be a reading, which claims that certain planets will both be in the same position which they were in at the moment of your birth. On a sample submitted, the placements were not accurate for the data provided.

The letter goes on to say that the victim’s financial situation will go through a favorable period during the next year, a short period linked to games of chance. It is implied that you could miss your good fortune if you don’t find out about that time period from this particular astrologer. I don’t buy it. The same energy will work itself some other way – perhaps as good or better than if you try to manipulate it through gambling. I never encourage my clients to gamble at certain times. Gambling should be done for fun, for entertainment, not out of desperation for financial gain. You may be able to leverage a lucky period in the way this astrologer suggests … but I am doubtful of the skills of any astrologer who can’t get the client’s Moon Sign right.

If you are really interested in lucky time periods, Matrix Software offers a program called “Winning Times” that I have been checking out to see if there is any correlation between good fortune and astrological indicators. I am planning on reviewing it here soon. I don’t know what this astrologer charges, because you don’t get the fees until you enter your credit card number (big red flag that this is a scam) … but Winning Times would likely pay off better. At least you’d know the program has your birth data correct.

If you do click on any of the advertisers on any of my sites, please be aware that I do not preview them. If you buy from them, it is Caveat Emptor (buyer beware). There are some very good astrologers and astrological products being advertised through Google, I do not want to discourage you from checking them out. But if you get any sales letter that makes a promise that looks too good to be true, it probably is. And if you feel you have been ripped off, I want to know about it so I can block them from my list. You should also contact Google to complain about these advertisers. They make legitimate astrologers look bad, and you can prevent this from happening to others.

Brandi