Love in Orbit: Elderly Japanese Woman Flees Down to Earth After $7,000 ‘Astronaut’ Romance Scam
An 80-year-old Japanese woman fell victim to a bizarre online romance scam after a fraudster posing as an astronaut convinced her he was trapped in space. The scammer claimed to be stationed aboard a spacecraft and desperately needed funds for “oxygen supplies” and “rocket landing fees” to return to Earth and marry her. Believing she was saving her long-distance partner, the Hokkaido resident transferred approximately 1 million yen (around $6,800 USD) before realizing the stellar romance was a complete hoax.
A Cosmic Connection Built on Lies
The deception began on social media, where the scammer initiated contact and spent weeks carefully building an emotional connection. Pretending to work for a major space agency, he quickly professed his love and promised a future marriage upon his return to solid ground.
Once the emotional trap was set, the fraudster introduced a dramatic, fictional crisis:
- He claimed his spacecraft was “under attack”.
- He told the victim he was critically low on oxygen.
- He demanded cash to pay for emergency oxygen and rocket landing fees.
Grounded by Reality
Moved by the urgent pleas of her supposed fiancé, the woman, who lives alone, completed multiple electronic wire transfers. However, when the demands for money kept skyrocketing with increasingly absurd excuses, she grew suspicious and reported the matter to local authorities. Hokkaido Police officially designated the incident as a romance scam and issued a public warning, urging citizens to be highly skeptical if anyone they meet online requests cash.
While the premise sounds like something out of a science fiction comedy, cybersecurity officials note that romance scams targeting lonely, elderly citizens have spiked drastically. In fact, an incredibly similar “space fraud” hit Japan previously, when a 65-year-old woman was swindled out of 4.4 million yen ($30,000) by a criminal posing as a stranded “Russian astronaut”. Authorities reiterate a simple rule of thumb for online safety: true love never requires a down payment for a rocket ship.