Elderly Japanese Woman Falls Victim to Space Romance Scam
An internet scam involving an elderly woman in northern Japan has made headlines as she became emotionally attached to an online user who pretended to be an astronaut. He claimed to be trapped in his spaceship and needed help to buy oxygen, leading her to transfer one million yen, equivalent to $6,700.
On September 2, the Hokkaido police reported that the woman, in her eighties, met a user on a social network who later told her, ‘I am currently in space, my spaceship has been attacked, and I need oxygen.’
According to the Japan Times, this woman, who lives alone, became emotionally attached to the online scammer during their online conversations.
Japanese police have warned to be suspicious of any online requests for money on social networks and to report them to the police.
In the first 11 months of 2024, more than three thousand romance scams have been recorded in Japan, more than doubling compared to the same period the previous year.
According to World Bank statistics, Japan has the oldest population in the world after Monaco, with the elderly being the primary targets of organized scams globally.