A man who pretended to be a Russian astronaut allegedly defrauded a Japanese woman out of over 4.4 million yen (about Rs 24.8 lakh) in a “international romance scam.” According to Japan’s TV Asahi, the accused said that he was working at the International Space Station (ISS) and that he required money to “return to earth to marry her.”
According to the report, the 65-year-old woman, who is from Shiga Prefecture in Japan, met the con artist on Instagram in June of this year when the man’s profile was crammed with images of space. The two started contacting one other and subsequently switched to the Japanese messaging service Line for their correspondence.
The man allegedly informed the woman that he loved her and that he wanted to move to Japan and marry her after some time. The scam artist then claimed that in order to “return to Earth,” he “needed money,” and that he needed to pay a landing fee for the rocket that might take him to Japan. According to reports, between August 19 and September 5, the woman sent the man 4.4 million yen. However, the Japanese woman grew suspicious when he persisted in requesting more cash and complained.
The issue is being looked at by the Japanese authorities as a “romance scam.”
