An 80-year-old woman in Japan sent money to an online fraudster who told her he was an astronaut stranded on a spaceship – and needed the cash to buy oxygen.
The pair first met on social media in July in what police described as a romance scam.
The scammer told the victim, who lives in Japan’s northern Hokkaido island, he was an astronaut and they continued to develop their online relationship.
The fraudster eventually told her he was “in space on a spaceship right now” and was “under attack and in need of oxygen”.
Police in Hokkaido said the victim, who lives alone, was then persuaded to transfer around one million yen (£5,000).
Officers believe the exchange was part of a romance scam, when fraudsters take advantage of people seeking love.
They warned people should be suspicious if asked for money from someone they met online.
Last October, Sky News went undercover in a scam centre in Cambodia – and reported how an industry of fraud factories has spread across southeast Asia.
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Thousands of workers are taught to steal the hearts and money of millions of victims worldwide – and try to make individuals fall for their schemes which range from fake romances to online gambling.
Another ex-romance scammer also told Sky News of the tricks used to try to make victims fall in love – and to make them part with thousands of pounds.
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