Handsome, the son of a billionaire from the diamond industry, drives a private plane, spends his summers in exotic destinations.
That’s how Simon Leviev introduced himself on Tinder, a dating app.
Too good to be true, many Tinder users thought. And it was. Because, in reality, Simon is Shimon, a poor swindler who managed to drive into debt several women around the world who gave him a total of an estimated 10 million dollars.
But that is only a part of the wealth that the Americans lost in 2021 in similar scams.
“Romantic scams” cost Americans a billion dollars in 2021 alone, the FBI said. Most of the victims left without money are women over the age of 40, followed by widows, divorced and elderly women, or people with disabilities.
The Tinder Swindler plot
Fraudsters often use poetry, flowers, and other gifts to charm victims, the FBI points out. As the victim’s affection grows, they “sell” her the story that they are in a problematic situation, even life-threatening, and that they need money that they will, of course, return.
Just like Simon Leviev who first impressed his victims by sending a private plane for them, having dinners in the most luxurious restaurants, sending 101 roses. The fascinating story of Simon is packaged in the documentary The Tinder Swindler, the only documentary to top the Netflix list of most-watched works around the world.
“Criminals spend hours practicing their skills, relying on well-tested scenarios. Sometimes they keep a diary of their victims to better understand how to use and manipulate them,” the FBI said.
About 24,000 complaints categorized as romantic scams were filed in 2020, 4,300 more than the previous year. The estimated value is 605 million dollars, but experts say that the actual figures are probably higher because many victims do not report fraud due to feelings of shame.
“After fraud, victims are often financially and emotionally ruined. Many of them cannot recover from financial loss,” warns FBI Special Agent Luis Quesada.
The FBI has advised people to protect themselves from potential online scams by investigating a person’s photo and data to see if they are appearing elsewhere, and not revealing too much personal information because a good scammer can use the details to scam. And the most important warning – never help anyone transfer money, says the FBI.
Release date February 2, 2022 (United States)
You can watch another similar story on Netflix new series called Inventing Anna.
The Tinder Swindler cast
- Kristoffer Kumar as Self
- Cecilie Fjellhøy as Self
- Pernilla Sjöholm as Self
- Ayleen Charlotte as Self
- Erlend Ofte Arntsen as Self
- Natalie Remøe Hansen as Self
source: imdb
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