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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.

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    What’s in California’s new $7 billion COVID relief package
    1. 0:00California passes $7 billion COVID relief package to help residents, small businesses and college students
    2. 9:26Cuba is close to producing a COVID vaccine and hopes to draw tourists with it
    3. 17:09Serena Williams paved the way for Naomi Osaka on and off the tennis court
    4. 27:17Romance scams exploded during coronavirus pandemicYou’re reading this
    5. 33:15Asian reality TV: What do ‘Bling Empire’ and ‘House of Ho’ mean for representation?
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Angie Perrin

      Producer, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Rebecca Heilweil

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

      CultureCoronavirusBusiness & Economy

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    What’s in California’s new $7 billion COVID relief package
    1. 0:00California passes $7 billion COVID relief package to help residents, small businesses and college students
    2. 9:26Cuba is close to producing a COVID vaccine and hopes to draw tourists with it
    3. 17:09Serena Williams paved the way for Naomi Osaka on and off the tennis court
    4. 27:17Romance scams exploded during coronavirus pandemicYou’re reading this
    5. 33:15Asian reality TV: What do ‘Bling Empire’ and ‘House of Ho’ mean for representation?
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand