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A Japanese woman in her 80s lost thousands of dollars to a fake astronaut who conned her into believing he needed her support with an urgent spaceship problem, police said

The con artist claimed to be "in space on a spaceship right now," and said he was "under attack and in need of oxygen," the police officer added

In 2024, 7,626 people over 60 years old fell victim to confidence fraud and romance scams in the United States, leading to more than $389 million in losses, according to the FBI

A Japanese woman in her 80s lost thousands of dollars to a fake astronaut who conned her into believing he needed her support with an urgent spaceship problem, police said.

The romance scam began in July, when the elderly woman, based in Hokkaido, connected with the swindler on social m

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