TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese octogenarian was swindled out of thosands of dollars after falling in love online with a self-described astronaut who sought her help to avert a spaceship crisis, police said Tuesday.

The hapless woman in Japan’s northern Hokkaido island met the fraudster, who claimed to be a male astronaut, in July on social media, a local police officer told AFP, describing the case as a “romance scam”.

After some exchanges the scammer one day told her he was “in space on a spaceship right now” but was “under attack and in need of oxygen”, the official said.

The scammer then urged her to send him money online to help him buy oxygen, and successfully hoodwinked her out of around 1 million yen (US$6,700).

The woman lives alone and started developing feelings for him as their online communication progressed, local media including Hokkaido Broadcasting said, quoting investigative sources.

“If a person you met on social media ever demanded cash from you, please be suspicious of the possibility of scam, and report to police,” the official said.

Japan has the world’s second-oldest population after tiny Monaco, according to the World Bank, and older people frequently fall prey to various forms of organised fraud.