According to police, the elderly Japanese woman met the scammer in July on social media, who said he was an astronaut.
A woman was duped out of thousands of pounds after falling in love with a fake astronaut “in need of oxygen.”
According to police, the elderly Japanese woman met the scammer in July on social media, who said he was an astronaut. The pair exchanged some messages when the fake astronaut said he was “in space on a spaceship right now” but was “under attack and in need of oxygen.”
Authorities revealed the woman, who lives alone, had started to develop feelings for him as their messages increased. The man convinced the pensioner to give him £5,000 online to try and buy oxygen. She was tragically left thousands out of pocket.
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“If a person you met on social media ever demanded cash from you, please be suspicious of the possibility of scam, and report to police,” a police official said.
Japan, which has the world’s second-oldest population after Monaco, frequently sees people fall victim to all sorts of fraud.
It comes just months after a British woman was groomed and exploited over a period of seven years by online scammers posing as a U.S. Air Force officer, ultimately costing her more than £167,000.
Angela*, who suffers from multiple chronic health conditions including cerebral palsy, arthritis, and diabetes, was living alone and isolated when the scam began in 2017.
Then aged 60, she received a friendly message on Facebook from a man identifying himself as Maxwell Johnson, a 59-year-old airman serving in Syria.
The two began chatting regularly, and she soon found herself drawn in by his charm and empathy.
Despite her physical pain and the loneliness of long, sleepless nights, the woman said Maxwell’s daily messages gave her a renewed sense of companionship and hope.
He was attentive and romantic, even staying up with her during her worst nights.
However, by 2023, the woman had sent over £167,000 and was deep in debt, owing more than £17,000 to energy providers and carers. She no longer had funds to maintain her home or pay for necessary care.
Her daughter changed her mother’s phone number, deleted her social media accounts, and contacting the police. Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) later confirmed the scam was the work of a Nigerian gang.
The man calling himself Maxwell Johnson never existed.