A 65-year-old woman from Higashi-Omi, Japan, was the victim of a scam and lost 4.4 million yen (approximately R$160,000). He transferred the value to someone claiming to be a Russian astronaut. According to TV channel Asahi, he sent romantic messages to the victim, saying that he was in love with her and needed help returning from outer space.
In interviews, the scammer stated that he was working on the International Space Station but needed financial help to return to Earth because he “wanted to start life in Japan”.
He also asked her to send money on the pretext that she had to cover “weekend vacation expenses”, “rocket costs to return to Earth” and “landing fees for Earth and Japan”, among other reasons.
But the conversation also included romantic gestures: “Will you marry me when I go to Japan?” as well as declarations and commitments of love.
The victim received the messages on social networks such as Instagram and LINE, a Japanese messaging app, and believed she was in love.
Therefore, he divided the amount paid from August 19 to September 5 into five installments.
But the demands did not stop, and the so-called astronaut increased the amount of money demanded. The suspicious old woman went to the police.
Police are investigating the case as an “international love scam” in which the victim was tricked out of romantic feelings, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported.
“I believed the names of real institutions such as NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency),” Kurban said in a statement.
source: Noticias
