The Science of Romance Scams

When Anola returns home from a picture-perfect trip to France, she finds an unexpected flirtation with a man who reaches out to her on LinkedIn. He showers her with love and attention, and over time, he steals thousands from her. When she discovers the deception, Anola reaches out to the real man behind the photo the scammer used, drawing her into a second betrayal. Criminals have figured out how to hack our brains, bypassing the rational and going directly for the emotional response. Austin Cusak, an expert in behavioral science at the FDIC, joins host Bob Sullivan to discuss the phenomenon known as "amygdala hijacking."

You can listen to The Science of Romance Scams online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Science of Romance Scams is an episode from The Perfect Scam by AARP.

This episode is 01:01:02 long.

This episode was published on Apr 3, 2026.

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