"An elderly woman in Japan sent thousands of dollars to a trickster who claimed to be an astronaut trapped in space and in danger of suffocating, . In fairness to the lady, though, she thought they were in love."
"Not only did the scammer claim to be a male astronaut, but he soon broke the news to her that he was "in space on a spaceship right now." And urgently, he was "under attack and in need of oxygen." So what else could he do but plea to a stranger he just met on the internet for help? Naturally, cash was the only solution to this unfolding orbital crisis."
An 80-year-old pensioner in Sapporo sent approximately 1 million yen (about $6,750) to an online romance scammer who posed as a male astronaut. The scammer claimed to be in space, under attack, and urgently needing oxygen, and persuaded her to transfer funds electronically to buy oxygen. The amount sent was noted as enough to power the International Space Station for only a few minutes. Romance scams have surged, with U.S. victims losing about $1.14 billion in 2023 and a median loss per person above $2,000. Older people are particularly vulnerable to internet-enabled cons.
Read at Futurism
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