Hokkaido woman loses 1 million yen in astronaut romance scam

An 80 year old woman in Hokkaido has been tricked out of about 1 million yen after an online acquaintance who posed as an astronaut told her he was stranded on a spacecraft under attack and urgently needed oxygen, police said. The woman, who met the man on a social media app in July, transferred the funds after the man cultivated a romantic relationship and repeatedly urged her to buy electronic money to pay for oxygen, investigators said.

Police in Sapporo and local broadcasters said the fraud began with routine online messages and escalated when the man claimed his vessel was running out of air. The victim, who lives alone, followed instructions to purchase the equivalent of 1 million yen in electronic or prepaid money at multiple stores between mid July and the end of August, investigators told local media. After receiving the payments, the fraudster cut off contact, prompting the woman to alert her family and then report the case to police.

Authorities described the case as a typical romance scam that exploits emotional bonds to extract money. An officer warned that anyone who meets someone on social media and is later asked for cash should be suspicious and report the...