The so-called fortune-teller was just a mountebank scamming people with smooth talk.

mountebank 由 mounte（来自意大利语 montare，意为"登上"）和 bank（"长凳"）组成，原指在集市上站在长凳上招揽顾客的江湖郎中。现在指"骗子、冒牌医生或占卜师"，特别指那些用花言巧语行骗的人。