on-line fraudsters have reinvent an age - honest-to-god online love affair scam by pretending to be a Russian cosmonaut who needs money to return home to planet Earth . As far out as it may seem , the hustle recently superintend to hook one woman living in Japan who reportedly send 4.4 million yen ( $ 30,000 ) to the unknown criminals .
The swindler in the beginning contacted the 65 - yr - former unnamed person from Higashi - Omi City in Shiga Prefecture via Instagram in June 2022 , Japanese newspaperYomiuri Shimbunreports .
According toThe Mainichinewspaper , the pair then began communicate via the Nipponese message app Line where he explain that he was wreak on theInternational Space Stationas an astronaut . He express a desire to originate a novel life sentence in Japan and declared his love for the unsuspecting dupe , claiming he would get hitched with her upon his getting even to Earth .
He reportedly sent her messages saying : “ I want to start my living in Japan ” and “ aver this 1,000 sentence wo n’t be enough , but I ’ll keep say it . I love you . ”
However , as love stories often do , thing chop-chop became complicated . He claim he required a “ landing place fee ” to pass home and adjust up a new life in Japan . Between August 19 and September 5 , she beam the mortal a total of 4.4 million hankering through five disjoined bank conveyance .
When the mortal proceed to ask for money , she grew suspicious and decided to consult the police . The Higashi - Omi Police Station is currently investigate the criminal offense .
Believe it or not , this is not the first astronaut - themed on-line cozenage . Back in 2016,an electronic mail scam was going aroundin which someone was pretending to be the full cousin of Nigeria ’s first cosmonaut , Abacha Tunde . So the story run , Tunde had been unwittingly left on add-in a Soviet infinite stationwhen the Soviet Uniondissolved .
“ He is in right humor , but wants to come up home , ” the email read .
The prankster claimed the cousin-german was still getting ante up for his days of on-going solitary service , amounting to over $ 15 million , but require a large sum of money to return to Earth and release the fund . If the dupe was willing to pay $ 3 million , they could incur 20 percent of the astronaut ’s fortune .
Needless to say , it was a scam . Abacha Tunde does n’t exist ( at least he ’s for certain not a lost space Internet Explorer ) and there have never been any Nigerian astronauts .
So , if you ever receive a content from an attractive astronaut who needs your help to return to Earth , it ’s dependable to assume it ’s too unspoilt to be lawful .
