Simon Leviev was portrayed as a successful man who traveled the world doing business in the diamond industry.
He always wore elegant outfits, was behind the wheel of supercars and lived surrounded by chic people in the most exclusive places in the world.
According to his social networks, one morning he was having breakfast in Abu Dhabi, the next day he was at the theater in London and two days later he was attending a business lunch in Munich.
In addition, he was handsome, detailed and funny.
It was "almost" perfect.
And that, according to his victims, is the problem.
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“It was horrible because, in a way, I loved him (…) I don't understand how someone can be so evil.
I felt like he knew me,” says a tearful Cecilie Fjellhøy, one of the three women who offer their testimonies in
The Tinder Scammer,
a recent documentary broadcast by Netflix.
The production tells the story of Leviev, who contacted various women on the popular dating application with the alleged intention of entering into a love relationship that, in all cases, ended with the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars for those involved.
The documentary focuses on the experiences of three women who, between 2018 and 2019, met the man on Tinder and were scammed out of large sums of money.
However, they are not limited to
: the research team that conducted the production estimated that this "fraud artist"
defrauded many women for a total amount ranging 10 million.
Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Hayut and is Israeli, flooded the cell phones of his partners with careful photos, brief glamorous videos, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, constant voice notes, geotags from various cities and a staging where spontaneity, even in supposedly dangerous situations, it was very well choreographed.
In addition, his online background had been falsified to cement the deception by posing as the son of Lev Leviev, the Russian diamond tycoon.
But, it was all a lie.
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The perils of Valentine's Day
As Valentine's Day approaches, in countries like the United States, "romantic scams" are increasing in applications and social networks on the Internet.
The most recent data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that the number of people who report having suffered fraud on digital platforms has increased like never before: in 2021 alone, more than 95,000 people reported having been victims of scams initiated on social networks and the sum of the losses amounts to about 770 million dollars.
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The commission warns that since the vast majority of these frauds go unreported, this figure only represents a small part of the damage that digital criminals perpetrate each year.
In the case of romance scams, consumers reported losing $547 million in 2021, an increase of almost 80% compared to 2020 (whose $304 million loss figure was already a record).
In total, the losses reported to the FTC during the last five years for
criminal activities linked to alleged love relationships are located at 1,300 million dollars.
I don't understand how someone can be so evil."
Cecilie Fjellhoy
“Unfortunately, people looking for a partner on the internet are at a huge disadvantage because the online space is full of scammers who want to take advantage of lonely people.
They present themselves as very attractive, intelligent, friendly and prosperous people but, in reality, they are predators who only enter romantic dating sites to look for victim profiles, ”explains Gil Cabrera, spokesman for the AARP, a non-profit organization that defends the interests of older people in the United States.
Last year, AARP published a report titled
Consumer Fraud in America: The Latino Experience,
which found that for adults, including members of the Hispanic community, the top three scams are romance scams, imposter scams that they pretend to work for the government and the lottery.
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According to the document,
Latinos and other minorities are increasingly being targeted by criminals who use various methods to steal money from them
.
In fact, 40% of Latino and Black adults have been targeted by online scams and fraud.
That was the case of Ted Trujillo, a retired lawyer in New Mexico, who was manipulated by 'Katerina' his alleged Ukrainian girlfriend who dragged him into a complicated fraud scheme in which he spent $180,000.
Trujillo, 77, refinanced his home mortgage twice to get loans to help the woman posing as his girlfriend.
According to a lawsuit filed in December, to which the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper had access,
the loans were subject to annual interest at a rate of 1,600%.
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“Such loans are grossly unfair and unconscionable and constitute an act of elder abuse,” the complaint says, adding that such treatment violates state law.
“It has been a very difficult time for our family, and we are doing everything we can to try to protect my father and his property, as well as trying to hold the people who took advantage of him accountable,” wrote Adan Trujillo, son of the victim who is also a lawyer, in an email published by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
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The AARP report also finds that Latinos' exposure to scams is similar to that of other racial groups: Nearly a quarter reported being the target of two or more scams.
And those scams can cost victims thousands of dollars.
“When criminals have your full trust, they tell you an unfortunate story about an accident or a problem that can only be fixed with money, and people in love often fall for it.
One mechanism that we have detected is that
those who carry out the fraud usually ask for gift cards
because it is as if you had cash and they are practically impossible to trace, ”warns Cabrera.
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The FTC has also warned about the use of gift or recharge cards as the most frequent payment method in the scams reported in the United States, to the point that they represent 28% of the scams registered last year.
In addition, the commission warns that
the use of cryptocurrencies in electronic fraud almost quintupled between 2020 and 2021.
In this case, criminals often trick victims with alleged investments or simple transfers of money in cryptocurrencies.
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Millions in love fraud
According to experts, the rise of social networks and smartphones has made these criminal practices proliferate.
Another recent case is that of Brian Brainard Wedgeworth, a Florida man who is known as 'The Casanova Scammer', and who is accused of cheating and taking money from 21 women in states like Florida, Texas, California, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and Maryland.
Wedgeworth, who is from Tallahassee, met his victims on dating apps like Bumble, Plenty of Fish and Christian Mingle.
He claimed to be a doctor and said that he had worked in prestigious universities and hospitals.
The man manipulated his victims to make him large transfers of money and gifts.
It is estimated that, in total,
the amount of the scams from him amounts to about 750,000 dollars.
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Wedgeworth's case shows the importance of reporting because he was arrested in Tennessee on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
If he is convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
“You have to understand that falling in love is divine, in a biochemical and biological sense.
It is a powerful feeling that is felt throughout the body and, precisely for this reason, we must be very careful when starting a romantic relationship”, warns Gilza Fort-Martínez, a family and couples therapist with more than 30 years of experience.
Various studies of the brain confirm what literature and the arts have maintained for centuries: the first stages of falling in love plunge us into a state similar to a certain madness and are characterized by episodes of excitement.
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In some trials, when participants are shown a photo of their loved one, brain regions linked to addiction and other conditions light up in the scans.
“Illusions of love can be dangerous.
When someone new comes into their lives and wants to occupy all the spaces, people must maintain common sense and caution, both in the physical world and in online contacts.
It applies to everything”, advises Fort-Martínez.
On Thursday, the FBI said that, in 2021,
some 24,000 victims reported losing approximately $1 billion
in romance scams.
In 2020 alone, the Cyber Crime Complaint Center recorded 791,790 online crime complaints.
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In the case of Shimon Hayut, the man who inspired
The Tinder Scammer
with his frauds , the scheme he used was wildly sophisticated.
After contacting his victims, he used to travel to meet them and invite them to expensive excursions in private jets, visits to the most exclusive places in each country and squandered huge amounts of money on accommodation and meals.
On average, every three days she spent about $20,000.
Although in 2019 he was arrested in Greece (thanks to the action of one of the deceived women who informed the authorities) and upon returning to his country he was found guilty of four counts of fraud, in addition to having to compensate some of his victims with a total of more than 43,000 dollars, he only served five months in prison because he benefited from a program that sought to reduce the prison population during the pandemic.
Shimon Hayut, an Israeli man accused of running love scams for more than 10 million dollars.Getty Images
Since his release in May 2020, Hayut has lived in Israel as a free man and, even before the documentary was released, he used to post photos and videos of his opulent life on social media where he had more than 100,000 followers, according to information from The Times of Israel.
However, he has been banned from major dating apps like Tinder and Hinge.
Meanwhile, the three women who participated in the documentary continue to pay back the loans they made to help him during his alleged security emergencies and have started a GoFundMe campaign.
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None received any compensation proposal from the man who made them fall in love, on the contrary, in the face of the claims they only received threats, as can be seen in the documentary.
This week, faced with the avalanche of questions about his conduct, Hayut left several messages on his Instagram account warning that he would take legal action against the filmmakers of the documentary and assuring that he would soon give his version of the events.
She then closed her account (although multiple profiles with her name have proliferated).
The best defense against cheating
The FBI advises acting with extreme caution in these situations:
Immediate attempts to communicate via email or messaging services outside of dating apps or sites.
People who claim to be Americans, but currently live or travel abroad.
People who say they have a sudden personal crisis and press for financial help.
Supposed suitors who suddenly disappear, but get back in touch under a different name.
People asking for money, goods, or other financial assistance without ever having contact in person.
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In addition, the researchers offer these tips to avoid becoming a victim:
Never send money to someone you met online, especially not using bank transfers.
Do not offer your bank or credit card information without verifying the recipient's identity.
Never share your Social Security number or other personal information with someone who doesn't need to know that information.
Be careful what you post online.
Scammers can use details shared on social media and dating sites to analyze your behavior and contact you.
Research the person's photo and profile using online searches to see if the image, name or details have been used elsewhere.
Take it easy when starting a relationship and ask the person who shows you a love interest a lot of questions.
In its report, the AARP warns of the emotional and physical toll scams have on people's health.
“Many Latinos are immigrants and, when they are older, they lower their guard
due to loneliness, which is a factor that causes depression, anxiety and that deteriorates health, so looking for a partner is something positive.
However, you have to be alert because there are many dangers on the internet,” says Fort-Martínez.
If you, or someone you know, believe they have been the victim of criminal activity on the Internet, you can file a report with the
FBI's Cybercrime Complaint Center
.
