Who isn’t talking about it? If you are not you are probably living under a rock, which is actually a good thing if I say so. You are definitely safe from the perils of the online dating world (or dating in general). I should probably put this in bold neon letters, because saying it once is not enough. You might think that you have the worst dating experience you know, with bad breath or the guy being tardy or simply creepy. This story is going to make your date seem like a dream come true. Trust me, you got off easy.

The amount of red flags this documentary/movie has is enough to last a lifetime. The aphorism “All that glitters is not gold” cannot be more accurate (Thanks Shakespeare).

Lets begin with the Tinder Swindler Netflix gist-

Shimon Hayut aka Simon Leviev is an Israeli con man or basically a fraudster, pretending to be a part of the Leviev family (Yes the Diamond mogul Lev Leveiv’s family, crazy right?). He uses Tinder, a dating app ( a tip- not recommended) to dupe women out of their money. He used to take the women on a lavish first date ( A FREAKING PRIVATE JET! REALLY?), start dating them all the while traveling across the world and dating other women. 

Then at a certain point, he would tell them about a certain group of “enemies”, that he conjured himself, that they were after his life, and send pictures of blood soaked wounds of his bodyguard who apparently tried to save him to induce concern and panic.

He would make various excuses about being unable to use his credit cards due to security reasons and hence asked for money from the women promising repayment. He would urgently ask the women to create new credit cards in their name and the game begins. 

He duped women out of almost $10 million. After taking their money he would eventually evade repayment by creating , sometimes even by threatening them and then ghost them. He would then repeat the cycle over, using the same incident every time.

Where is Leviev now?

According to a statement by Tinder, Leviev and all his known aliases have been banned all across the platform. His instagram account was disabled some time back but now he has created other accounts on the platform. He was sent to prison for 15 months but he got out in 5, and is still wanted in several countries (big surprise). Right now he is claiming to sue all related parties (good joke) for defamation of character. Honestly one should have a character in order to sue others for the same.

What now- A peak in to the dating world?

This crime documentary has now made people all the more hesitant to use Tinder. Safety issues, especially for women, had already been a major concern, not to mention the harassment and derogatory comments.

The dating world is already full of heartbreaks and disappointment (insert sad face) What else do you want? 

You  might feel your Prince Charming is chasing after the wrong Cinderella, well at least you are not spending money on him. Taking out a loan to help a guy you met on the internet? Being asked to pawn your car? COME ON PLEASE SEE THE BLARING BRIGHT RED FLAG!!!

Let’s talk about dating in the modern world!

Being a millennial or a part of the ‘Gen-z’, with the word dating, the first and the most convenient option, keeping all the different facets in mind, is dating apps. Tinder and Hinge have taken a forefront in this. 

Dating is now at the tip of your finger, and trust me, the amount of people available, all of so many different types is unimaginable. In simple words, it is an extravagant buffet of men and women. 

Choices are plenty, but the major issue or concern here is safety. No amount of measures can be considered enough, especially in the case of women.

Stale date emergency!

The amount of preparation required before going on a date is not just limited to outfits and make-up. The number of contingency plans made are enough to send anyone in a doozy. 

Do your research people! Try to know as much as possible about them (without being a stalker obviously).

Emergency text messages, having friends track your location ( a willing invasion of privacy for a change) and probably plucking a strand of the guy’s hair for DNA samples ( too dark never mind).

The kind of horror stories one gets to hear about dates gone sour is unimaginable. I love creative scenarios, but this might border on unrealistic, though they are 100% true.

The fact is, it’s not always just women in danger or being stuck with an awful date. Men too are subjected to it too. 

There have been so many instances where the woman had turned out to be the worst kind of person you can imagine, and god help you if you’re stuck with a clinger. If you are rich, bonus brownie points for that situation!

Getting stuck with borderline psycho can put you in a god-awful pickle.

Taking safety measures is of utmost importance. Meet in a decent public place, with a fair amount of crowd to be on the safe side. 

Try to find out as much as possible about your date ( Please don’t go out with someone who has a criminal record for god’s sake, no matter how good-looking he or she is, hoping that you might change them, it is simply stupid.)

Meeting at their place or your place is a strict no for a first date.

Here’s to hoping that all Simon Leviev(s), irrespective of gender, go to hell, and you find a deserving partner! Toodles!