That’ll be the last astronaut she’ll trust.

We’ve seen it time and time again, cases where fraudsters pose as anyone from your son or daughter to Mick Jagger or Shohei Ohtani. It’s what’s known as tokushu sagi, or “special fraud,” and despite the countless attention given to the problem in the media, it continues to claim a disturbingly large number of victims.

In fact, the perpetrators seem to be getting even more brazen with their fabricated stories to cheat people out of their money. On 30 August, Hokkaido police announced that a Sapporo resident in her 80s was taken for one million yen (approximately US$6,750) by someone claiming to be a spaceman.

I use the term “spaceman” rather than “astronaut” because, based on the details of the case, this person was posing more as the Flash Gordon style space adventurer than an able-bodied molecular biologist.

The victim met this person on social media nearly two months ago and communicated often. At one point, the man explained in equally awkward Japanese, “Currently I’m coming to space on my spaceship, but I’m under attack and running low on oxygen.” He then asked the woman to send him electronic money in order to buy more oxygen.

▼ It just so happens that many major digital currencies are accepted in Circinus X-1.

The details of who was attacking him in outer space and how he could purchase oxygen in space were not reported, but they must have been compelling. The woman agreed, and between mid-July and late August, purchased a total of one million yen in digital currency from five different convenience stores in her part of Sapporo.

It wasn’t until the victim finally told someone in her family about the situation that she finally contacted the police about it. She told them that she had developed romantic feelings for the spaceman, so the authorities are treating this as a romance scam.

Many readers of the news felt that, despite the objective heinousness of the crime and the ridiculousness of the story, it at least made an elderly lady dream and be happy for a while.

“Couldn’t they somehow search for the scammer while still letting the lady believe that story?”
“I just hope he was able to buy his oxygen safely.”
“I wonder, if it makes someone in their 80s happy to believe that, maybe it’s OK?”
“But what if he’s telling the truth?”
“And I can’t even buy oxygen here on Earth.”
“It’s impressive someone in their 80s is actively using social media though.”
“I’m beginning to realize that fraud is a lot easier than I thought.”

Judging by the scammer’s less-than-fluent command of the Japanese language, he likely comes from another country. So, in terms of his spaceman story fooling people, it’s probably a one-in-a-million shot. Still, with social media giving people worldwide reach and electronic payment systems simplifying money transfers, it probably is much easier to rip people off than it used to be.

Conversely, the best way to combat this type of fraud is often communication with people in the real world who can offer perspective on suspicious stories. Our close ties with each other here at SoraNews24 have helped us steer clear of fake women and Yusaku Maezawas for years now.

Source: TBS News Dig, Itai News
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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