Don't swipe right 🔎 ➡️ 💰

Most of us have used the dating app Tinder at one point or another. The app makes it easier than ever to meet new people. Some are looking for love and others just want to hook up. It is ultimately up to you what you get out of Tinder. The process is simple. Create a profile and start swiping right for yes and left for no. You can browse locally or change your location to anywhere in the world and meet people in new places. The possibilities are endless.

The Tinder Swindler is one of Netflix's latest documentaries and this one is all about the Tinder lifestyle. One man went to great lengths to become one of the biggest frauds in the history of Tinder. The illusion that this man created was of course for money and power.

This true story begins with a woman named Cecilie Fjellhøy explaining how she met a man she knew as Simon Leviev on Tinder. She had been searching for love on the dating app and eventually was matched with Simon. They quickly began to chat and before you know it, Simon invited her to meet up.

Simon's profile was as impressive as it gets in terms of Tinder godliness. He was well-traveled, had many friends, and looked to be extremely wealthy. He claimed that he was "The Prince of Diamonds" and was heavily involved in the trade of high-value gems. He was never in one place for very long, but he was willing to make time for Cecile since they had many great conversations and a seemingly strong connection.

Simon was indeed real and actually living the life that his profile showcased. Spending $20,000/day was normal for him and he was more than happy to share his idyllic life with Cecilie. She became infatuated with him in no time. The documentary says it was strictly emotional, but it's pretty obvious that she was interested in living the millionaire lifestyle as well. She was both in love and in the middle of a gold mine. Both were great reasons for her guard to be down.

Cecilie and Simon were forced to spend most of their time apart, but Simon always made sure to stay in contact via messaging. Simon was traveling across Europe constantly for business meetings. Cecilie became more and more interested in this mysterious man, although they had only been able to spend time together a few times. Eventually, he told her to pick out an apartment so that they could start living together. The monthly limit was $15,000. Sounds pretty great right?

After a few months of promising Cecilie things like getting married and starting a family, Simon finally shows his true intentions. He tells Cecilie that he is in danger and that rivals in the diamond industry are after him. He must close all of his financial accounts and lay low while his security team attempts to keep him protected. He asks Cecilie to do him a major favor and open up a new credit card in her name so that he can still spend money. His promise is to pay her back for everything once his security issues are sorted out. Cecilie is in love and clearly, Simon has plenty of money to pay her back. All she wants is for her new man to be safe and for them to finally be together once again. This leads Cecilie to foolishly begin to take out loan after loan to help her man. She racks up a few hundred thousand dollars worth of debt and continues to believe that she will get it all back eventually.

While this situation between Simon and Cecilie is playing out, Simon is still living his life as usual. Cecilie knows that Simon is still spending large amounts of money, but she doesn't question him since she loves him. She even notices that he is back on Tinder since his profile is updated and remains active. He denies using the app, although there is obvious proof that she ignores it. During this time, Simon meets a new woman named Pernilla Sjöholm.

Pernilla and Simon end up meeting and forming a bond right away. They do not have an emotional connection but become very close friends. Simon brings other women around Pernilla whom he does start to date. They travel Europe together all summer long and make many great memories together. Simon pays for pretty much everything and allows Pernilla to enjoy the luxuries of his lavish lifestyle.

The exact same story about being in danger with diamond rivals is eventually fed to Pernilla. There are photos and videos to prove that his bodyguard was attacked and in an ambulance, the same evidence that was sent to Cecilie. Pernilla trusts Simon since he just spent several months traveling with her and thousands of dollars on her. Once again Simon asks Pernilla to assist him and temporarily open up new lines of credit so that he can live his life until security measures are figured out. Hundreds of thousands of dollars more were given to Simon in hopes of eventually being paid back in full. Pernilla eventually gets fed up with Simon and starts to think that something is up and ends up getting in contact with media people to get the word out.

Simon has another girlfriend that he has been dating for over a year named Ayleen Charlotte. She gets wind of Pernilla's experience and realizes that she too is caught up in the same mess. Ayleen had also loaned Simon a great deal of money and has yet to see any of it come back to her. Keep in mind that all of these women met Simon on Tinder.

The three women decide to team up with some journalists to uncover the truth about Simon Leviev if that even was his real name. After investigation, it is discovered that Simon's true identity was Shimon Yehuda Hayut, a man wanted in Israel for crimes he committed and then fled the country.

Simon is caught up in a big mess. He is forced to go into hiding and attempts to create a new identity with the name David Sharon. He had previously had his name legally changed from Shimon Yehuda Hayut when left Israel. His new moniker would be Simon Leviev so that he could pretend to be related to Lev Avnerovich Leviev, an Israeli businessman known as "The King of Diamonds". Making Simon The Prince of Diamonds".

Pernilla was still pretending to be Simon's friend and the journalists create a plan to capture photos of Simon while Pernilla is out on a dinner date with him. He spots the hidden photographers but doesn't realize that Pernilla is involved with any of them. He runs away again and goes dark for a period of time.

Ayleen was aware of his next name David Sharon. She continued to play along with his lies and pretends that she still loves him in hopes of getting back at him in some way. He didn't have many options left for more money, so Ayleen becomes his main target. She says she doesn't have any money left and offers to sell some of his high-value fashion items since she works in the fashion industry. Her plan was to get a portion of the money that she loaned him back, but he thinks that she is going to give her profit to him.

This is when things really start to get bad for Simon. He is broke and starts jumping from hostel to hostel, being forced to stay at the cheapest places around. He no longer is able to keep up his high fashion image and begins to take on a rough look. At one point he even makes claims to one Ayleen that he has been eating leftover food out of the garbage.

Ayleen shows no sympathy and waits for the opportunity to alert the police of Simon's whereabouts. He finally makes plans to travel under his new name David Sharon, for which he has a fake passport. Ayleen ends up being the one to finally make Simon pay for what he has done to these poor women.

Simon is caught by the authorities and arrested for using a fake passport. He is sentenced to 15 months in prison but ends up only serving 5 months in total. He was never in trouble for the fraud he committed towards countless women. It is hard to say the total number of women that he swindled, but I am sure they will start appearing out of the woodworks since this Netflix documentary is blowing up.

After Simon's release from prison, he somehow manages to get right back into his luxurious way of living. He most likely jumped back into the same scheme with new women who were unaware of his past. Like I mentioned before, Tinder is an endless supply of people worldwide. Simon also began to offer business advice for a fee on a new website. I'm sure that he didn't expect this documentary to come out and ruin his plans. He lives free today, but I have a feeling it is now much more difficult for him to take advantage of women on Tinder.

Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjöholm, and Ayleen Charlotte are all still dealing with their massive debts that were created thanks to their connections with Simon Leviev. Even with their Netflix release, Simon has managed to escape a fair punishment for his doings. I absolutely think what Simon did was terrible. I do however think that the women who fell prey to his schemes were golddiggers and should have been more careful about how much they trusted this seemingly wealthy man. The digital realm of dating can be great and even end with true love. There is also the chance that the total opposite could happen and your life savings could evaporate in the hands of somebody as evil as Simon.

I was persuaded to watch The Tinder Swindler by my girlfriend, but she of course fell asleep during it and I ended up watching it by myself. I was initially not very interested in seeing it, but once the mystery of Simon began I wanted to know how it all ended. I think this documentary is totally worth seeing, especially if you have spent any time at all on Tinder during your life. Here is the trailer so that you can get a better idea of what to expect from this one.