Despite reportedly conning multiple women out of $10 million, the Tinder Swindler is living as a free man in Israel.
It's been a year on from Netflix's explosive expose of Shimon Hayut, who is more widely known by his scammer alias, Simon Leviev.
Viewers were hooked by the enticing scandal of the faux diamond-tycoon, dripping in designer clothing, swooping women up for first dates on private jets and enveloping them with cunning charm.
But Leviev's victims are still picking up the pieces from the nightmare - riddled with piling debt, emotional trauma and a maddening lack of justice.
Cecilie Fjellhøy, a 35-year-old former tech designer from Norway, lost more than £200,000 to fraudster Leviev after he emotionally manipulated her into thinking he was in danger - forcing her to 'lend' him the money.
Now, she's campaigning for more awareness around romance fraud - and better protection for victims.
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ABC)According to the Netflix documentary, Leviev followed the same sinister model for each of his victim's - love-bombing women with lavish gifts and trips, emotionally manipulating them into believing they were in a real relationship and posing as a wealthy heir who couldn't use his own credit cards in case he was tracked, all in a bid to steal their cash.
Leviev would lure his next victim in using the last victim's cash, in a calculated cycle of exploitation.
Speaking to The Mirror, Cecilie recalls the fear she felt when Leviev sent her fake videos of his bloodied bodyguard to convince her to 'lend' him sums of money.
"If you really, truly believe at the time that this guy might lose his life, you take that risk. I gave up my life because I thought, if I don't help him, one of the consequences is that he might die. But in doing so I took the chance that my life might never be the same again," she explains.
"When you become a fraud victim, it's your good qualities that are exploited - your empathy, your care. When I came out with my story, a lot of people said it's my fault, as I sent the money. Well yes, you always want to be a kind-hearted human being. But it's not that you are a bad person or that you did this."
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Daily Record)Image:
AFP via Getty Images)The activist is now warning of the dangers around sharing passwords with your partner, as research by ExpressVPN has found that three in ten Brits admit they have shared passwords out of fear of their partner.
Almost a quarter of the 2,000 men and women surveyed (23%) feel the need to share passwords to prove their loyalty to their other half.
These findings come as the amount of money that romance fraud victims are losing in the UK continues to rise.
According to Nationwide Building Society, the average amount of money victims are losing through romance scams has more than doubled from £4,720 in 2021 to £11,796 in 2022.
As the average UK earner makes roughly £33,000 a year, the average amount lost to romance scams would account for almost two fifths of their annual salary.
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Dave Benett/Getty Images for Netflix)Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images for Net)Cecilie's experience is staggering, but she insists that romance fraud can happen to anyone, as her inbox continues to be flooded with victims sharing similar stories a year on from the show.
She explains: "The feedback I've been getting from people on how fraud is happening is that it's not just some 'stranger danger'. A lot of the time, it's someone close to you that you've shared passwords with. It only took 54 days for him [Leviev] to get access to my passwords and to pretend to be me. It might be a choice you take but it could haunt you forever."
She believes that encouraging conversation around password sharing can help de-stigmatize romance fraud, and in turn help victims feel more empowered to come forward.
"The more awareness we build, the more victims will be met with compassion and kindness instead of questioning why they did that they did. That empathy and awareness will help people spot signs in the beginning stages when asked to share passwords," she explains.
Cecilie says that her mental health was 'totally destroyed' by Leviev's scam, and adds: "When your trust gets crushed, you don't understand because you've never met that kind of evil before. You're standing in front of them and you're crying and saying 'my life is over' and they say 'relax, everything is going to be fine' and you know it's not going to be fine - it's heartbreaking. It's so important that people know these men exist - and there are many more."
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instagram.com/simon_leviev_official)Image:
instagram.com/simon_leviev_official)Leviev has not been charged for defrauding Cecilie and strongly denies claims made in the Netflix show. In 2019, he was convicted of four counts of fraud - unrelated to Cecilie's allegations - but only served 15 months of a five year prison sentence.
He was also sentenced to two years in a Finnish prison for his scams in 2015. Despite his high profile, another woman has claimed to be scammed by Leviev in Israel since the docuseries aired. Meanwhile, the real Israeli diamond magnates Leviev stole his name from have sued the fraudster.
Five years on from meeting Leviev, Cecilie is ready to find love again while still continuing her healing journey. The 35-year-old still struggles to trust new partners, but remains optimistic and even recently appeared on Celebs Go Dating.
"I'm one of the few people who actually enjoy dating, so that was the best part of the show. There's still a lot of healing that needs to be done - these are the repercussions of trusting the wrong person, it took 54 days to become a victim but the repercussions have been over several years - but I just enjoy dating and I met some really nice men."
The campaigner is planning to lobby the government for more recognition around the human cost of romance fraud, a factor she argues is often overlooked by the police in the UK. "The emotional toll isn't considered when you report romance fraud. They just look at the money. I want perpetrators to get proper jail sentences for what they did to you as a human being."
Despite everything, Cecilie is still a big fan of Tinder, but insists dating apps and social media giants have a wider role to play in protecting fraud victims too.
The long-awaited Online Safety Bill proposes major law changes to protect people from online scams, including romance fraud. It would force tech companies to have a 'duty of care' to protect users from fraud from other users, including scam adverts.
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