It is nothing new. Large-scale deceit is the core of ancient black magic practices. Once you cut through all the intentionally lurid obfuscating bullshit, black magic boils to an incredibly simple system of three rules:

1. Never tell the truth when you can use a lie.
2. Take people's real wealth, power, and territory in exchange for future promises.
3. Turn those people against each other.

While it's extremely important to know these rules in order to protect yourself, it's rather horrifying to be aware of how much of society is built on this evil.