Cecilie Fjellhøy, from Norway and based in London, was often looking for a partner who is a “diamond in the rough” through the apps Tindera dating platform created in 2011. It had hundreds of matches (kind of like) and dozens of meetings and conversations, but none was her ideal man.
However, one day he saw the profile of simon leiev. Supposed manager of a diamond company and son of a tycoon in that industry. A man who traveled in private planes, wore designer suits, stayed in luxurious hotels and dined in the best restaurants in Europe. Cecilie did not hesitate and gave match to Simon’s profile and there began their “love movie” that ended with a bitter and exhausting ending. The story is told in the documentary The Tinder scammer from Netflix.
Since 2012, Tinder is the apps world’s leading dating site. Its reach is global as more than 190 countries have adopted the use of the application. It has 6.2 million users who pay a monthly subscription (the majority in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany), which positions it in the top 5 globally in the app market. In 2021, it reported between 57 and 75 million active users worldwide, according to the Statista site.
The pandemic has increased the number of people using the platform. 75% of users are men. In South America, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina are the ones with the largest users.
The following month Simon sent flowers, gifts and traveled to visit Cecilie in London. After formalizing the relationship, Simon, of Israeli origin, told Cecilie about a “big deal” in diamonds that he needed to do and that involved a $700 million transaction, but that he had many “enemies” who wanted to do him harm.
One night, Simon sent him messages, videos and photos on WhatsApp stating that his bodyguard was attacked trying to prevent an attack against him. “He asked me to lend him my credit card for two weeks and I agreed because I was his girlfriend and we would help each other.”, says Cecilia.
The dangers of ‘linking’ in social networks and mobile applications in Ecuador
However, Simon quickly reached the limit of the card and asked him to talk to the bank to increase it. He then asked her to get him $25,000 in cash and she got it. Simon’s demand for money did not cease and Cecilie applied for loans with nine banks for a total debt of $250,000.. When he refused to continue giving money, Simon disappeared.
Cecilie found out that he was not the son of a tycoon and that he was a swindler when he went to the banks and told his story: “I showed Simon’s photograph to the executives and they recognized him and told me that it was not the first time he had done that”.
It’s not the first time the dating platform has been in trouble. Scams, hoaxes, false profiles have been previously reported. What is most recorded are ‘passionate’ or ‘romantic’ scams in which criminals conquer their victims through chat, usually by impersonating an identity or using photos of another person.
Then they tell them that they would love to visit it, but that they are far away and cannot afford the ticket, so they ask for money to do so and end up receiving a transfer, and then they disappear, according to the Infobae site. All this makes controversy appsespecially for security.
However, there are those who have found love through the app or friends with whom to talk. Cinthya is from Guayaquil and says that she uses Tinder at certain times of the year.
“I use it when I travel to the United States. I think that there is more security and better profiles than here (Ecuador). There is always a risk of using this type of platform, but I don’t see anything wrong with it. I always look for information about the person I know on Google or on other social networks“, He says. He indicates that she has met all kinds of people, some just looking for sex, others friendship, and some a long-term relationship.
Cindy, another Guayaquil woman who asks to keep her last name confidential, met who today is her partner and the father of her daughter on Tinder. Three months after the first meeting they decided to live together and almost four years have passed since then. However, she says that she also had bad experiences meeting people on the platform, but more so because some believe that sexual encounters are sought and she intended first to make friends and if this led to a romance “it was another story.”
For Ecuador there are no user statistics, but in 2018, a Management Training study indicated that Tinder, in that year, was the eighth most used social network on cell phones in the country and also the second application, among those that offer subscription, most downloaded on iPhones. It was in sixth place for Android phones.
Cecilie, the protagonist of the documentary, assures that she continues to use the app and that, so far, she has more than 1,000 matches: “The problem is not Tinder but the people who use it to scam”. Although now he is much more careful when choosing who to strike up a conversation with. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
