80-year-old Japanese woman loses life savings to scammer posing as stranded astronaut
In a deeply unsettling incident, an 80-year-old woman from Japan’s northern Hokkaido island fell victim to an elaborate and heartless scam, losing her entire life savings to a fraudster who cunningly posed as an astronaut in dire straits. The Hokkaido Prefectural Police reported that the scam, which unfolded over several weeks, exploited the woman’s trust and compassion, highlighting the growing sophistication of online fraud targeting vulnerable individuals, particularly the elderly.
The deception began in July 2025, when the woman, whose identity has been withheld to protect her privacy, encountered the scammer on a popular social media platform. The fraudster, whose true identity remains unknown, crafted a compelling persona as a stranded astronaut aboard a damaged spacecraft. According to reports from Sky News, the scammer claimed the spacecraft was “under attack and in desperate need of oxygen supplies,” creating a sense of urgency and danger that tugged at the woman’s emotions. Playing into this fabricated narrative, the scammer convinced the woman that her financial assistance was critical to his survival, manipulating her into believing she was aiding a hero in a life-or-death crisis.
Moved by the supposed astronaut’s plight, the woman wired approximately $6,700—equivalent to roughly 1 million Japanese yen—believing the funds would be used to secure vital oxygen supplies for the spacecraft. Unfortunately, the money was funneled directly into the scammer’s accounts, leaving the woman financially devastated. Authorities later confirmed that the funds were irretrievable, as is often the case in such scams due to the use of untraceable payment methods or offshore accounts.
Hokkaido police have classified the incident as a classic example of a romance scam, a type of fraud that frequently targets elderly individuals who may be more susceptible to emotional manipulation due to loneliness, limited digital literacy, or trust in online interactions. The scammer likely built a rapport with the woman over time, fostering a sense of intimacy or admiration before introducing the fabricated crisis. This tactic, known as “grooming,” is commonly employed in romance scams to exploit victims’ empathy and goodwill.
This case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader, disturbing global trend of romance scams that leverage false identities to defraud vulnerable individuals. For instance, in a similar case reported in France, a woman was deceived out of $850,000 by a scammer impersonating Hollywood actor Brad Pitt. The fraudster went so far as to send AI-generated images of himself lying in a hospital bed, claiming to need funds for medical expenses or personal emergencies. Such scams demonstrate the increasing use of advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, to create convincing personas and manipulate victims into parting with substantial sums of money.
The rise of these scams has sparked alarm among authorities and policymakers worldwide, prompting calls for stronger protections for online users. In the United States, lawmakers have proposed the Romance Scam Prevention Act, a legislative measure aimed at curbing such fraud on dating apps and social media platforms. The proposed law would mandate that platforms notify users if someone they have interacted with has been banned for fraudulent activity, potentially alerting victims to suspicious behavior before they suffer financial or emotional harm. Similar regulatory efforts are being considered in other countries as governments grapple with the challenges of policing online spaces where scammers operate with relative impunity.
In Japan, where the elderly population is significant and growing, authorities are increasingly concerned about the vulnerability of older adults to online scams. The Hokkaido police have urged the public to exercise caution when engaging with strangers online, particularly those who request money or claim to be in distress. They have also encouraged families to educate their elderly relatives about the risks of sharing personal or financial information on social media platforms.
