𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐬 – 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

🙏 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗦?

Blessing scams are deceptive confidence tricks that exploit cultural beliefs and fears of spiritual harm.

👤 Scammers often pose as spiritual healers or community elders, convincing vulnerable people their families are cursed or at risk from evil spirits.

💰 Victims are persuaded to hand over valuables for a “ritual,” but instead of protection, they receive a bag of worthless junk while the scammer vanishes.

These scams leave victims not only financially devastated but also emotionally shaken, as they manipulate trust, faith, and cultural traditions.

💰 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗠 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦

👻 Fear Tactics – Scammers claim the victim or their family is cursed, warning of evil spirits and demanding urgent action.

🪄 The Ritual Promise – Victims are told their valuables must be used in a blessing or cleansing ceremony.

🎒 The Bag Switch – During the ritual, valuables are secretly swapped with a bag of rice, water, or worthless items.

🏃 The Escape – Victims are instructed not to open the bag until later, by then the scammer is long gone.

⚠️ 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗜𝗦 𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗞?

👵 Elderly individuals – often isolated or less familiar with scam tactics.

🌏 Cultural communities – where traditional rituals carry deep respect.

📌 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟-𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗦 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰–𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱)

🇦🇺 𝗦𝗬𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗬, 𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗔 – $𝟯 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗧

Over 80 incidents targeted elderly Chinese women across Sydney suburbs such as Ryde, Burwood, and Parramatta.

Victims were tricked into handing over jewellery and cash, only to get back bags of junk.

A 63-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man were arrested at airports while trying to flee to China. Police are still seeking seven others linked to the fraud.

🇺🇸 𝗦𝗔𝗡 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢, 𝗨𝗦𝗔 – $𝟵𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗘

Between Nov 2024 and Jan 2025, at least seven elderly Asian women were targeted in San Francisco.

Individual losses ranged from $7,000 to $91,000 USD, with victims told to wait for blessings before opening the swapped bags.

🇺🇸 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗚𝗢, 𝗨𝗦𝗔 – 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗦

In 2024, elderly Asian women in Chicago’s Chinatown were deceived with fake rituals.

Scammers, speaking the victims’ native language, convinced them to hand over cash and heirlooms then replaced them with junk.

🇦🇺 𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔, 𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗔 – 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦

A Melbourne resident shared how their mother-in-law was scammed by three women performing a spirit-cleansing ritual.

Valuables were swapped for worthless items before the scammers disappeared.

🇦🇺 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗, 𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗔 – 𝗔 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗬

A victim named Grace lost over $10,000 AUD after being told a ghost was hunting her son.

She placed all her jewellery and cash in a bag for a “ritual,” only to later find bottles of water and rice inside. Grace said

“People feel ashamed… I want to speak out. These people are evil.”

🛡️ 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦

🚫 Never hand over valuables for spiritual or ritual purposes.

👀 Stay alert if someone approaches claiming you are cursed or your family is in danger.

📢 Educate elders and communities—scammers deliberately target cultural respect and fear.

📞 Report suspicious encounters immediately to local authorities, even if no money was lost.

🔎 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗠 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦

Blessing scams are not random theft, they deliberately exploit culture, trust, and fear.

By raising awareness in families and communities, we can protect vulnerable people from losing not just their valuables, but also their sense of safety and dignity.

👉 If you or someone you know is approached with a so-called blessing ritual, speak up. Awareness is the strongest protection.