{“lastseen”:”2025-09-11T12:39:27″,”description”:”A Japanese octogenarian from Hokkaido Island lost thousands of dollars after being scammed by someone who described himself as a desperate astronaut in need of help. \\n\\nAccording to Hokkaid\u014d Broadcasting, police in Sapporo say the fraudster contacted the woman on social media in July. After several weeks of exchanging messages, the ‘astronaut’ claimed he was under attack in space and asked her to send money for \u201clife-saving oxygen\u201d through prepaid systems at five different convenience stores in the city. \\n\\nThe money requests escalated as the woman got more romantically attached to the scammer, resulting in a total loss of around 1 million Yen (US$6,700). At that point she told her family and reported the scam to the police.\\n\\nRomance scammers typically target individuals on social media or online dating platforms, building trust over time, before convincing victims to send money, personal information, or valuable items\u2014sometimes to help the scammer launder funds or goods. \\n\\nThese scams have grown significantly in recent years, driven by the widespread loneliness epidemic and the increase in online activity. \\n\\nPolice in Sapporo\u2019s Teine district are now treating the case as a romance scam and have warned residents to be cautious of similar social media encounters. \\n\\n.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading309287_2bc2ac-57, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading309287_2bc2ac-57[data-kb-block=\\”kb-adv-heading309287_2bc2ac-57\\”]{font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading309287_2bc2ac-57 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading309287_2bc2ac-57[data-kb-block=\\”kb-adv-heading309287_2bc2ac-57\\”] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;} \\n\\n## How to s**tay safe from romance scammers**\\n\\nIt’s very easy to look at a case like this and think \\”How could they not know they were being scammed?\\” But anyone can fall for a scam, especially as scammers get more and more sophisticated and their use of AI increases. \\n\\nHere are some tips to stay safe:\\n\\n * Don\u2019t send money or disclose sensitive information to anyone you have never met in person. \\n * Take it slow and read back answers. Scammers usually have a playbook, but sometimes you can spot inconsistencies in their answers. \\n * Cut them off early. As soon as you expect you are dealing with a scammer, stop responding. Don\u2019t fall for sob stories or even physical threats they\u2019ll use to keep the connection alive. \\n * Check their profile picture using an online search. You may find other profiles with the same picture (a huge red flag) or even reports of scammers using that picture.\\n * If they ask you to move to another platform to chat, this is another red flag. They are not doing this for privacy reasons, but to stay under the radar of the platform where they first contacted you. \\n * Consult with a financial advisor or investment professional who can provide an objective opinion if you\u2019re offered an investment opportunity. \\n * Share examples (anonymized) to help others. One way to do this is to use Malwarebytes Scam Guard, which also helps you assess if a message is a scam or not. \\n * Don\u2019t do this alone. If you have any doubts, share your concerns with someone in your life that you trust. Their perspective may keep your feet on the ground. \\n * If you encounter something suspicious, report it to the appropriate authorities\u2014such as local law enforcement or the FBI via its Internet Crime Complaint Center. Your actions could prevent others from falling victim. \\n\\n\\n\\n* * *\\n\\n**We don ‘t just report on scams\u2014we help detect them**\\n\\nCybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. If something looks dodgy to you, check if it’s a scam using Malwarebytes Scam Guard, a feature of our mobile protection products. Submit a screenshot, paste suspicious content, or share a text or phone number, and we\u2019ll tell you if it’s a scam or legit. Download Malwarebytes Mobile Security for iOS or Android and try it today!”,”published”:”2025-09-11T10:38:12″,”modified”:”2025-09-11T10:38:12″,”type”:”malwarebytes”,”title”:”\\u0026#8216;Astronaut-in-distress\\u0026#8217; romance scammer steals money from elderly woman”,”source”:””,”references”:””,”id”:”MALWAREBYTES:CBB7152E59D68B3F6A3F9A6A3C6DF0A4″,”bulletinFamily”:”blog”,”cwe”:null,”cvelist”:[],”sourceData”:””,”sourceHref”:””,”cvss”:{“score”:0,”severity”:”NONE”,”vector”:”NONE”,”version”:”NONE”},”cvss2″:{},”cvss3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””,”cvssV3″:{“version”:””,”vectorString”:””,”baseScore”:0,”baseSeverity”:””,”attackVector”:””,”attackComplexity”:””,”privilegesRequired”:””,”userInteraction”:””,”scope”:””,”confidentialityImpact”:””,”integrityImpact”:””,”availabilityImpact”:””}},”href”:”https:\/\/www.malwarebytes.com\/blog\/news\/2025\/09\/astronaut-in-distress-romance-scammer-steals-money-from-elderly-woman”,”category_name”:”News”,”post_link”:””,”product”:””,”version”:””,”vendor”:””,”ai_description”:””,”ai_severity”:””,”ai_vendor”:””,”ai_product”:””,”ai_version”:””,”ai_score”:0}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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