Simon Leviev – Story of the Tinder Swindler

Simon Leviev is a con man from Israel that got popular through the Netflix documentary – “Tinder Swindler”. His story and the way he duped women almost remind us of the “Wolf of Wall Street” film. Though there is a lot of difference between his story and the movie mentioned above, many similarities are also present.

For starters, both stories glorify luxury lifestyles and the mysteriousness appears to make them look cool. While teenagers and young people might find the entire thing mesmerizing, mature people know better. This Netflix documentary in particular shows the ugly side of online dating.

The digital era has made it possible to make new connections using nothing more than an active internet connection. However, performing background checks is also important and we should never let our guard down for any reason. Go through the following content to have a clear view of this show.

Simon Leviev AKA Shimon Hayut was born in Israel in 1990. His family wasn’t exactly rich, but that did not stop this man from aiming big. The only problem was that his ways of making money weren’t within the boundaries of the law.

Ever since he got the opportunity to stay in his friend’s apartment in Brooklyn, his end goal of living a luxurious lifestyle becomes too evident. From early 2010, he did have a strong social media character and Tinder was the medium that helped him the most. Over the years he has defrauded many women and the number of allegations appears to be growing. 

Background

As we mentioned before Simon Leviev came from a humble background. At the time of publishing this post, this man appears to be making a living by selling his knowledge for a fee (consultancy service). He has faced a lot of legal tussles and deportations.

In the end, he did face the consequences of his actions in Israel and was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Many people felt that the punishment wasn’t apt. Ironically enough, Simon is now a free man and due to Covid Pandemic, he just served 5 months in prison.

Note that he has not paid back to the victims yet. While there is still some speculation about the flow of funds, we cannot make any comment unless we have all the variables present. 

Simon Leviev Tinder Swindler

Online dating is a boon and thanks to the present era, it does make a lot of sense to use any app that helps us connect with our ideal partner. However, just like everything in the Universe, there is a dark side to it too. Simon Leviev’s story shows us the extent con artists will go to reach their goals.

He did start just like a typical guy who has expensive taste and a lavish lifestyle. Sadly, as soon as he realized the kind of narratives that earned him traction, it was an entirely different game. According to a few estimates, over the years he has defrauded people for over 10 million dollars.

In other words, he was looting his dates and was most likely using the funds to fund his lifestyle. He did get caught more than a few times. Unfortunately, he did manage to dodge many charges for a long time. He was even on and off social media from time to time.

Stories and posts published by Simon got too much traction, but guess what? Many people aren’t ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

Damages

We did spend a lot of time crunching the numbers. Due to a lack of data, we could not quantify things perfectly and track sources. Over the years, the estimated amount stolen by the Tinder Swindler is said to be around 10 million dollars. The amount is indeed huge.

The victims of the scam were never reimbursed. More than the financial damage, the kind of things victims had to go through emotionally appears to be unparalleled.

Though it is not the first of a kind hustle, the incident shook a lot of lives and apart from the perpetrators no one appeared to be smiling in the end. 

Celebrities on Simon Leviev

Thanks to the information highway, even celebrities started talking about this particular incident. Montana and Cardi B mocked him and posted a couple of Tweets. Both of them used the “I am at the hospital, send me money” narrative in a sarcastic manner.

French Montana was amazed to have crossed paths with Simon Leviev and he pointed at the heaps of irony present in our lives. Tinder has banned him, but he appears to be active on Instagram. A while back, he did quit social media, but that phase did not last for long.

Where is he now?

This is the question that appears to be on everyone’s mind. Though we do not know his exact plans for the future or his physical location, he is still very active. He has come up with a website via which he sells business advice. The traffic sources are unknown for the time being.

Due to a lack of social proof, we cannot comment anything about the value he offers. Given every bit of information about him, it does pay to be conservative and not rush into anything without being aware of all the contingencies involved. There are a few other speculations too about his plans, but only time can give us all the answers.

Bottom Line

Fake it till you make it approach is taken by a lot of scammers in the dating niche. Online dating by itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but do not let someone’s flashy lifestyle fool you.

Always be in your senses and use common sense. Lastly, do remember to raise complaints if you ever spot things going south. 

What do you think about the Tinder Swindler? Share your answer below.