Catfishing Cost A Shiga Woman 4.4M Yen By A Man, To Fly Down from ISS to Marry Her

This is what you call ground control to major fraud !!!

A 65-year-old resident of Higashiomi City met a man on social media who claimed to be a foreign national working on the International Space Station on 28th June.

Around August, the man requested money to return to Earth. According to him, life on the ISS is a pay-your-own-way deal and he needed to cover the cost of a rocket back and the landing fees. She fell for his request, and the woman made five bank transfers over five days, totaling about 4.4 million yen (US$30,000) to cover her lover’s return flight to Earth. However, when he continued to ask for money, she grew suspicious and eventually filed a police report.

Unfortunately, given the anonymity and likelihood that the scammer wasn’t even in the country, justice may seem a far-fetched reality. So the Shiga Police are reminding everyone that prevention is key and to never transfer money to anyone that you meet on social media.