What would you do if you were told the love of your life was an astronaut stranded in space and needed money to breathe?
For one elderly woman in Japan, the answer was to transfer 1 million yen ($6,772) to her online suitor.
The 80-year-old victim met the fraudster on social media, according to Sky News. The scammer, posing as a Russian cosmonaut, claimed to be on a mission at a space station but was stranded and in need of money for oxygen.
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The bizarre case is an example of the psychological manipulation at the heart of romance scams. The frauds, also known as catfishing, begin with a perpetrator creating a fake online identity to feign romantic interest in the victim.
The scammers often use stolen photos of attractive people, and their profiles are written with plausible but fabricated backstories.
The scams can last for months, with the fraudster building an emotional connection and trust before introducing a financial crisis.
Social media investment and romance scams have surged in Japan in recent years. In 2024, Japan's National Police Agency reported 3,784 cases with a combined financial loss of 39.7 billion yen ($269 million).
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The typical victims are women who feel marginalized in a society where traditional gender roles are changing but not fast enough. They are entrepreneurial and trying to "seize happiness through their own efforts, according to the study "Therapeutic but toxic spaces: Romance fraud victimization from a psychosocial perspective" published in the Journal of Economic Criminology.
The women's negative emotions, such as loneliness, frustration or a sense of not fitting in, make them particularly vulnerable to fraudsters. The scammers capitalize on their feelings by offering a "therapeutic but toxic" form of communication. They promise an alternative life, often through a foreign partner, which is seen as a way to escape the social and economic challenges of life in Japan.
Earlier this year, Japanese and Nigerian police took down a criminal network specializing in social media investment and romance scams in Japan.
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The operation led to Nigerian authorities arresting 11 people who received the scam victims' money in their bank accounts and nine Japanese nationals who converted the stolen funds into cryptocurrency, allowing the criminals to move the money undetected.
If you want to avoid becoming the victim of a scam, there are measures you can take to protect yourself.
Be skeptical of online relationships — especially those that escalate quickly. Never send money or personal financial information to someone you've only met online, and be wary of sob stories or urgent pleas for financial health.
While the story of the "astronaut" may seem outlandish, romance scams are not just a problem for elderly people who may be easier to take advantage of. They are psychological manipulation that can cost anyone their savings and emotional well-being.
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Image: Shutterstock
