‘Astronaut-in-distress’ romance scammer steals money from elderly woman

A fraudster described as an “astronaut in distress” conned a Japanese octogenarian from Hokkaidō Island, contacting her on social media in July and claiming he was under attack in space. According to Hokkaidō Broadcasting, the scammer asked the woman to send money for “life-saving oxygen” via prepaid systems at five different convenience stores in Sapporo. The total loss amounted to around 1 million Yen, roughly US$6,700, before she alerted family and reported the scam to the police.

Police in Sapporo’s Teine district are treating the case as a romance scam and have urged residents to be cautious of similar social media encounters. Romance scams generally involve builders of trust on dating platforms or social networks, then persuading victims to transfer money or share personal information. The article notes that such schemes have grown in recent years, fuelled by loneliness and rising online activity. According to Malwarebytes, police advice and public awareness remain crucial to help mitigation and reporting.