The Tinder Swindler: How a Scandinavian Case Became Global True Crime

When the Netflix documentary 'The Tinder Swindler' premiered on February 2, 2022, it shone a spotlight on a romance fraud operation that had victimized women across Scandinavia and Europe. Directed by British filmmaker Felicity Morris, the documentary tells the story of Shimon Hayut, an Israeli con artist who operated under the alias Simon Leviev, systematically manipulating victims through one of the world's most popular dating applications.

Hayut's scheme was deceptively simple yet psychologically sophisticated. He created an elaborate false identity, claiming to be the son of Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev — a claim with no basis in reality. Through Tinder, he cultivated romantic relationships with targeted women, establishing emotional bonds before transitioning into financial exploitation. The con involved a carefully choreographed narrative: Hayut would claim he faced threats from business rivals, needed urgent financial assistance, or required help securing assets. To maintain the illusion of wealth and legitimacy, he chartered private jets for his victims, showered them with luxury gifts, and created an atmosphere of exclusivity — all funded by money extracted from previous targets.

What made Hayut's operation particularly insidious was his theatrical approach to maintaining the facade. Some victims reported being asked to witness staged knife attacks, designed to reinforce his manufactured crisis narratives. This level of social engineering elevated the con beyond simple financial fraud into psychological manipulation territory that law enforcement and academic researchers have come to recognize as a hallmark of transnational romance scams.

The documentary centers on three primary victims, including Cecilie Fjellhøy from Scandinavia, who lost approximately $200,000 to the scheme. Pernilla Sjöholm and Ayleen Charlotte provide additional testimony that illustrates the emotional and financial devastation inflicted by Hayut's operations. Their accounts reveal a pattern: initial charm, escalating requests for money, promises of repayment, and ultimately, abandonment once the financial well ran dry.