A number of cases involving Tinder-based scams or frauds have lately made the press. With an average of 1.6 billion “swipes” per day, the Tinder app is available in nearly 200 countries. Scams and fraud have a large audience with 50 million people.
Malware is a prevalent internet danger that directs users to fraudulent web pages where criminals can steal personal information and use it to commit identity theft. Another fraud involves sending an account verification request that includes a third-party link, which is used to gather personal information.
Catfishing is another problem that has recently received notice in the media. Catfishing is the practise of enticing someone into a relationship by creating a fake online persona. While some “catfish” may simply desire to talk to someone, the activity could also be done for financial gain or to harm the other person in some way.
In 2010, a man named Bobby approached Harkirat Assi, claiming to be the brother of a boy Assi’s cousin used to date. They developed a friendship, got close, and then drifted away over time before rekindling it. Years of deception began when Assi was told Bobby had died, then that he was actually in a witness protection programme but was unwell and suicidal, then that he had died. In 2015, the two started dating, with Bobby sending her flowers and presents and creating bogus profiles for his family on Facebook. When Assi’s younger cousin admitted that she had been impersonating Bobby all along, the hoax was ultimately exposed in 2018. Assi won a civil case against her cousin for the fraud in 2021, which included an apology and a financial compensation.
Shimon Heyada Hayut, aka Simon Leviev, approached women on Tinder and convinced them that he was the son of a millionaire diamond dealer, defrauding them of £7.4 million. In the Netflix documentary “The Tindler Swindler,” he was exposed. Hayut would lavishly spend money from other victims on hotels and presents for victims. Hayut set up credit lines and loans in the names of his victims, putting them in debt. His strategy was to meet a woman on Tinder and take her on an extravagant and expensive first date, such as a trip on a private aircraft. He’d keep working on the relationship while also “dating” other people. He would say that he was in danger at some point, and he would back up his allegation with images of his injured bodyguards. Then he’d ask his partner to open a credit card for him because he didn’t feel safe using his own. Hayut would utilise numerous excuses, threats, and avoidance to evade repayment. Hayut was arrested and convicted of fraud in Israel, receiving a sentence of 15 months in prison.
Richard Dexter, popularly known as the Hampshire Tinder con artist, met his victim on Tinder in 2015. Dexter is claimed to have “shared intimate details” with his victim in order to gain her trust, after which he persuaded her that he required money for a patent catalogue, for which she gave him £40,000. He then told her he was about to get a significant profit from biopharmaceutical technology investments, but he needed a £68,000 down payment. The victim ended up handing him £141,500 in all. Dexter’s backstory stated that he was worth about £7 million, that he was involved in Hollywood Studios, that he owned private aircraft, and that he had once purchased a hot air balloon on the spur of the moment. Dexter was convicted of perverting the course of justice and possession of articles for use in fraud after pleading guilty to seven charges of fraud. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, with the issue of restitution to be decided at a later date.
Because Tinder is utilised in so many countries, when an offence is committed, the problem of jurisdiction may emerge. As the examples above show, a wide range of offences can be committed. If you are suspected of such criminality, it is critical that you seek experienced legal guidance.
