Scammer posing as stranded astronaut convinces woman to send him $6,750 to buy oxygen

[midian182]

Facepalm: There are plenty of stories about people who fall for romance scams in which criminals pretend to be famous people asking for money. We wonder how anyone could be fooled by such a scheme, but a recent con was even more unbelievable: a fraudster told a woman they were an astronaut stranded on a spaceship, and needed cash to buy oxygen. The 80-year-old was convinced and transferred $6,750.

Like so many romance scams, this one started when the man contacted the victim – a resident of Japan's northern Hokkaido island – on social media. Police said initial contact was made in July, and that the person claimed he was a male astronaut.

As reported by Sky News, investigators say that the scammer later told her he was on a spaceship "right now," and that he was under attack and in need of oxygen.

The scammer said he needed money to buy more rapidly depleting oxygen, successfully convincing her to send 1 million yen – about $6,750.

Local reports say the woman, who lived alone, had developed feelings for the man as their online exchanges became longer and more frequent.

Older people are more likely to fall for online scams than younger generations, which is why they are often targeted. Japan has the second-oldest population in the world after Monaco, making it a popular location for scammers.

It's worth remembering that the victim in this instance was 80 years old. The sad reality is that scammers will go after the elderly and those with mental health issues, like the woman who sent $850,000 to a person claiming to be Brad Pitt – using terrible AI/photoshopped images (below) – and was asking for money for kidney cancer treatment.

A 2023 Deloitte survey showed that while 5% of boomers reported being scammed online, 16% of Gen Z users, more than three times that of the older generation, had fallen victim to the same crimes.

Gen Z also saw their social media accounts hacked more than boomers (17% vs. 8%) and had their location information misused more than any other generation. But the findings were almost certainly due to younger people being online a lot more and their reliance on technologies such as email.

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Scammer posing as stranded astronaut convinces woman to send him $6,750 to buy oxygen

 

[WaltC3]

I wish I could believe that anyone would be that stupid... But I don't. Almost every day, my wife finds some bizarre "news" on her Facebook account that she researches and quickly finds is fake news.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I wish I could believe that anyone would be that stupid... But I don't. Almost every day, my wife finds some bizarre "news" on her Facebook account that she researches and quickly finds is fake news.

Put your wife to work on this one!

 

[wiyosaya]

I wish I could believe that anyone would be that stupid... But I don't. Almost every day, my wife finds some bizarre "news" on her Facebook account that she researches and quickly finds is fake news.

Well, you have to consider the age of the "victim" and realize that many people that age are not at all internet savvy. I think it also important to consider the culture. I think of the Japanese as generally more honorable, and as such, they are more likely to trust that others are honorable, too, even when its not justified such as in this case. Something like this would be easy to verify because it would be all over reputable news sources.

Yeah, I'm a boomer, but I'm highly technical and would easily recognize this.

I find it interesting that Gen Z is more likely to fall for a scam than those in my age group. I'm noting what seems to be an increase, recently, in all kinds of crazy attempts at scams in texts on my phone, and in messages left on my answering machine at home. Most of them seem to be aimed at people that have knee-jerk reactions.

 

[seeprime]

Well, you have to consider the age of the "victim" and realize that many people that age are not at all internet savvy. I think it also important to consider the culture. I think of the Japanese as generally more honorable, and as such, they are more likely to trust that others are honorable, too, even when its not justified such as in this case. Something like this would be easy to verify because it would be all over reputable news sources.

Yeah, I'm a boomer, but I'm highly technical and would easily recognize this.

I find it interesting that Gen Z is more likely to fall for a scam than those in my age group. I'm noting what seems to be an increase, recently, in all kinds of crazy attempts at scams in texts on my phone, and in messages left on my answering machine at home. Most of them seem to be aimed at people that have knee-jerk reactions.

I have a few 80+ yo customers that have fallen for emotional appeals and manipulation. Also have dozens that are too savvy and trust no one.

 

[Carlos GarPov 00]

Is this Yahoo???

 

[trparky]

As Rule 190 of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition says “Hear all, trust nothing.”

And then there’s Rule 99… “Trust is the biggest liability of all.”

 

[Axeia]

As Rule 190 of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition says “Hear all, trust nothing.”

And then there’s Rule 99… “Trust is the biggest liability of all.”

Shame that scammers always stick to rule #1
"Once you have their money, you never give it back. "

 

[BogdanR]

If indeed true, this would be proof that, much like space, ignorance has no known boundary.

 

[toooooot]

It is so creative that I think I would send him $5

 

[maxxcool7421]

And these ''people'' are allowed to vote ,, no wonder we have a convicted sex abuser for a president ..

 

[Watzupken]

It just shows some people don’t think. To me, it’s not about the age or whether they are savvy or not. It’s like some random stranger approaches you and ask you to give them 6 grand to buy toilet paper for their dog and someone will fall for it. The scam where Brad Pitt was asking for money is even more far fetched. People don’t question why will Brad Pitt need money when he is loaded to begin with.

 

[Zoneman]

I find this hard to believe

 

[Xelions]

Someones been either:

1. Watching too much anime
2. Manipulated to think vending machines have reached outer orbit
3. Living in their imagined reality
4. At the older age, completely lost it
5. Just probably plain dumb

Many people don't seem to use the 1x thing they got that is free for life - their mind, yours to control!

Although I do understand on occasion people falling for a very convincing scam. We all make mistakes but this oxygen and Pitt scam is getting ridiculous

PS. F#$k you autocorrect software! I can type my own sh#$ out thankyou very much!

 

[m3diapers]

I wish I could believe that anyone would be that stupid... But I don't. Almost every day, my wife finds some bizarre "news" on her Facebook account that she researches and quickly finds is fake news.

where have you been before 2025? many Americans used to identify as cats or other entities and made up their own pronouns

 

[Hotlynx16]

So sad! My 72 year old brother-in-law on social security was bragging about "Free laptops" on Facebarf, only pay $39.95 shipping! I told him if it is too good to be true it is a scam!He had already ordered one!