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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Romance scams exploded during coronavirus pandemic

With all the extra time people are spending at home and clicking around the internet, online romance scams are thriving . This is when a seemingly attractive single sends you a private message, builds an emotional bond, then asks for money.

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By Madeleine Brand • Feb 23, 2021 • 5m Listen

With all the extra time people are spending at home and clicking around the internet, online romance scams are thriving. This is when a seemingly attractive single sends you a private message, builds an emotional bond, then asks for money.

In 2020, people lost more than $300 million to their fraudulent online beaus in the U.S., which is about $100 million more than the previous year. Even though older people are more likely to fall victim to these scams, a lot of younger people fell for them too in 2020.

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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    Angie Perrin

    Producer, Press Play

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    Michell Eloy

    Line Editor, Press Play

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    Rebecca Heilweil

    reporter for Open Sourced at Vox, covering artificial intelligence, algorithms, and automation

    CultureCoronavirusBusiness & Economy
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