In the 1990s, it was common to see ads in British magazines—chiefly aimed at women, if I remember correctly—for “psychic” services. A number of these advertised amulets or talismans that would be sent to you if you wrote to the address provided, and these were supposed to do wonderful things for your life. One of our skeptics filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority and got a ruling to require these ads to make less absurd promises.
A Deal with the Devil: The Dark and Twisted True Story of One of the Biggest Cons in History. By Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken. New York: Atria Books. 2018. ISBN: 978-1-5011-6384-5. 304 pp. Hardcover, $26.