© 2025 KUNR
Illustration of rolling hills with occasional trees and a radio tower.
Serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The threat of catastrophic funding cuts for public media looms, and while we don’t know what the U.S. Senate will do, we do know this: We need your help protecting this vital service.
Learn what you can do to support KUNR and public media today ➡️

Soulmate or scammer?: Fraud from romance scams hits record numbers during pandemic

Published November 2, 2021 at 9:25 AM PDT
A couple makes a heart with their hands on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2020. (Mahesh Kumar A./AP)
A couple makes a heart with their hands on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2020. (Mahesh Kumar A./AP)

Every year millions of people sign up for online dating sites hoping to find a meaningful connection. But for some, the person on the other end is a scammer.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, in the past three years, people have reported losing more money to romance scams than any other type of fraud. And during 2020, the first year of the pandemic, reported losses for romance scams hit a new record: $304 million.

Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist for The Washington Post, tells us more.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.