What You can Learn from Tinder Swindler
“The man I loved was never real. He faked everything. Everything is a lie, but then you still have this fairy tale that’s going on on your phone,” - Cecilie. Cecilie is one of the victims of Simon Leviev, after meeting him on a dating app. The Netflix documentary Tinder Swindler has been on the Top 10 shows to watch in Singapore. Deceivingly handsome and romantic, Simon Leviev has conned many women he met on dating app out of almost US$10 million. Romance fraud is not something new – it’s been in the dating scene for a long time. Many of our clients, before coming to us, also experienced romance fraud and lost lots of their money. Here’s what you can learn from Tinder Swindler so you won’t meet these fraudsters.
When you watched Tinder Swindler, fraudster use these typical tactics to lure their victims:
- Create a profile that is too good to be true – showing their lavish lifestyle, their social status, and their power. People who are really wealthy and have power tend to stay out of radar and everything can be rented nowadays.
- First date is like a fairy tale. They fly you by private plane, give you expensive (it might be a fake) bags or watches. The first date was a guideway to lure you to believe that they’re really rich.
- Too soon to say ‘I love you”. Fraudster will shower you with grand affection, say that they love you after 3 days of meeting you (?) and discussing the future together.
- They won’t ask for money in short periods of time. They will ask for money after you believe they love you.
- Putting you in a position that only you can help them - They have no family, friends, extended family to aid them in emergency situations that require money. You are the only one that they can rely on.
- Emergency that suddenly occurs that urgently requires financial help –for example medical problems (an accident or suddenly getting cancer) or criminal justice issues such as claiming to have been arrested overseas.
- Sending you expensive gifts from overseas and asking you to pay custom tax. These are the most common frauds. Do remember that REAL custom officers won’t ask you to transfer money to personal account number.
If you spot one of those, it’s better to immediately disengage with them and move forward separately. If you experienced romance scams, immediately report to the authorities. If they harass you, don’t try to reason with them, find an explanation or even question if this is your fault! It is NOT. If they keep on terrorizing you, report to the police.
Dating apps are great, and we would encourage singles to use dating apps to expand their social circle and meet new people. However, we can deny there’s dark sides from dating apps.ecause no verification needed to use that app. So how to be safe in online dating? Here’s our tips:
- Do not share your passwords with anyone. This includes your social media password, email account, or definitely NOT your bank or credit card information.
- Remember that you lose control of any electronic message or photo once you hit send; so don't send anything private online, or any photos that may be incriminating. Many times, messages and photos are used to embarrass or humiliate someone after a breakup.
- Do not hand your phone over to your date, especially if it’s someone you just knew.
- Know your privacy settings and keep your electronic devices, online accounts and social media accounts as secure as possible.
Lunch Actually screens all potential members in person and adopts strict verification to make sure they are real and have the right intentions. Our dedicated team scours from our biggest database of eligible singles in Singapore to find the most compatible match to set up a genuine dating experience for YOU! If you want to know more about us, click the banner below!
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