Fake Russian astronaut dupes woman, seeks money to 'return to Earth’

The accused claimed that he is working at the International Space Station (ISS) and that he needed money to “return to earth to marry her”.

In an ‘international romance scam’, a Japanese woman was allegedly duped of around 4.4 million yen ( ₹24.8 lakh) by a man who posed to be a Russian astronaut. The accused claimed that he is working at the International Space Station (ISS) and that he needed money to “return to earth to marry her”, reported Japan's TV Asahi.

Fake Russian astronaut dupes woman, seeks money to 'return to Earth’ | Representational image

The 65-year-old woman - a resident of Shiga prefecture in Japan, met the conman on Instagram in June this year where the man's profile was filled with photos of space, the report said. The two began exchanging messages and soon moved their conversation to a Japanese messaging application - Line.

According to the report, after some time, the man told the woman that he was in love with her and that he wanted to move to Japan and marry her. The conman then told her he “needed money to return to Earth”, claiming that he had to pay a landing fee for the rocket which could fly him to Japan.

Reportedly, between the period of August 19 and September 5, the woman sent 4.4 million yen to the man. However, as he continued to ask for more money, the Japanese woman started to get suspicious and filed a complaint.

The Japanese police are investigating the case under the ‘romance scam’ bracket.