An Imposter Claiming to Be an Astronaut Wooed a Japanese Woman Into Paying for a 'Return Ticket to Earth'

A woman in Japan paid $30,000 in an online scam. Local media in Japan reported that the con artist tricked the woman into thinking he was a Russian who couldn't afford a flight back to Earth.

On June 28, the pair started communicating through the social media platform, and the scam artist claimed that he was on the International Space Station. He blamed the poor cell service for his lack of communication. When the fake astronaut claimed to be in love with her, things got violent. He couldn't leave the space station unless he had enough money to return to Earth.

In order to rendezvous with her online lover, the woman sent him a large sum of money so that he could leave the microgravity environment behind. Even long-distance love has a price limit, and the victim became tired of the astronauts increasing demands. She finally reported him to the police after she made five money transfers.

The victim was sold on the fact that he could namedrop space agencies like NASA and JAXA on his social media page. The fact that the International Space Station doesn't have a cell service was incorrect. The Space Network is a network of communications satellites and ground-based antennas used by astronauts. They probably don't spend a lot of time on the photo sharing site. You don't need to book a ticket to return to Earth from the International Space Station. Private astronauts can pay for their own tickets to board the International Space Station, which is cheaper than getting one of NASA's astronauts to go. The price also includes a return trip back to Earth.