In a bizarre case of online fraud, an elderly Japanese woman has fallen victim to a romance scam involving a scammer who claimed to be an astronaut stranded in space.
The scam began in July when the woman, in her 80s and living in Hokkaido, connected with the fraudster on social media, according to CBS News. The man claimed he was aboard a spaceship and urgently needed money to buy oxygen due to an emergency. As their conversations continued, the woman reportedly developed romantic feelings for him and, believing his story, transferred approximately $6,700 electronically to help.
This incident is part of a broader global trend of romance scams, which frequently target older individuals. In the United States alone, the Federal Trade Commission reported over $1 billion in losses from romance scams in 2023. Around half of all users on dating platforms reportedly encounter such attempts.
Japan’s aging population makes seniors particularly vulnerable to these types of schemes. And while the story may sound outlandish, it’s not without precedent. In 2022, Vice reported a similar case in which a 65-year-old Japanese woman was defrauded of $30,000 by a man also claiming to be a stranded astronaut—this time aboard the International Space Station. That scammer allegedly promised to marry her after she paid for his “return rocket” to Earth.