SHADY psychics and questionable clairvoyants are trying to scam Aussies with lucky charms, magic potions, and curse-removal promises.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch data revealed reports of spiritual scams have skyrocketed a whopping 300 per cent across the past three years.

And the dodgy promises have reaped more than $815,000 from vulnerable consumers in that time.

The scammers will often predict a positive event, or claim that an individual is in trouble and offer a solution, according to the Scamwatch website.

“The scammer will tell you that they will help you in return for a fee. If you refuse to pay, some scammers will threaten to invoke a curse or bad luck charm on you,” the Scamwatch website says.

“They may claim you have been cursed or jinxed and offer to remove this themselves or give you the name of someone else who can do so.

“You may be offered a good-luck charm, the secret to enormous wealth, magic potions or winning lottery numbers for a fee.”

The data shows that from 2015 to 2017, more women were affected than men, and individuals were mainly targeted via email.

There were 237 complaints last year, the Scamwatch data revealed, up from 59 in 2015.

Deakin University deputy director of cyber security Matthew Warren said there were a number of aspects to the increase.

“Scammers have realised there’s a huge variety of ways they can scam people out of money,” Mr Warren said.

“In regards to psychic scams, a lot of that I imagine is actually to do with certain demographics.”

Mr Warren said older people might be susceptible to this type of scam. His thoughts were supported by the data, which showed many complaints came from those aged over 65.

“Many older people will befriend people on Facebook they don’t know, and attackers will start collecting information about prospective victims,” Mr Warren said.

“Certain cultural groups (would be affected) as well, where being cursed or bad luck is a bad issue.

“And because Australia is such a multicultural society, certain cultures at certain times of the year could be focused on.”

More than 50 reports have already been logged this year, with $86,367 in losses recorded for February.

Last year, the greatest total loss was recorded in February at $77,019, while the months where the most money was stolen in 2015 and 2016 were towards the end of the year.

“In December, there’s Christmas and it’s close to New Year celebrations, and in February there’s Chinese New Year,” Mr Warren said.

“Good luck for the year is a predominant feature, and these are times of the year where people would be more susceptible to worrying about the future and what’s going to happen.”

The Scamwatch website advises “if you are approached by a psychic or clairvoyant and they tell you that you are in danger, have bad luck or are cursed, be very cautious — their solution is likely to be a scam.”

The ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report revealed $340 million in combined financial losses to scams occurred in 2017.

The ACCC has been contacted for comment.