The Tinder Swindler

My question with all these women was, why didn't they say, "Ask your rich family for the money!"

My mother really did tell me to run the other direction if a guy ever asked to borrow money from me. Boy was she right! So this is my gift to all you women out there - don't lend any guys money.

So - these women did and this documentary shows how it happens and why and how to spot a swindler.

Too many reviewers call the women gold diggers. Stop it. If the roles were reversed, you'd jump on that plane as fast as a woman, so pot/kettle.

As one reviewer put it - it is disturbing (and it is) and wait until you see the ending. Holy crap.

My heart goes out to the young women who were used by this swindler. Losing money through fraud is hard enough, but the man broke their hearts. Also, because he was a professional thief, the fear of being more victimized will never leave them.

Conmen have always been with us, but never in history has it been so easy for them to find their marks. They don't need to find a Doris Duke or Kim Kardashian. With the internet providing all the background they need on potential victims and dating applications proving a pond of lonely victims, they just have to pull the same con again and again.

This film does a great job of showing who the victims are, who the conman is, and how the con works. It underscores the complication of trying to prosecute the criminals across the world, and how police are hampered by language, law, and the intimacy of the relationships. It shows that the conman has the upper hand, and will keep doing it again and again.

Please, look behind the profiles of people you meet on social media. Romcoms are not real. There is no Prince Charming, and you aren't Cinderella. Do a background check, and, if he asks for money, run (don't walk) in the opposite direction. Do not lend money.

And, again, a conman is a sociopath. And a conman who gets his own Netflix show is a conman who is really good at it.

This show is less "shocking" than "predictable." Dogs bark. Conmen steal.

The documentary does a nice job of putting together the timeline and puzzling together the swindler's path of action with his victims. They could have made an effort though to add some police expert on whether the key elements of the frauds are the same as for other con artists as some general advice. What was definitely missing was a deeper look into the tinder profile of the victims and what they had in common. The swindler must have been looking for a certain type of women.

I am applauding the three women for going public. It can't have been easy for them. At least they made it harder for him to defraud more people, unfortunately not impossible as it seems. Fingers crossed that the women can bring their financial problems in order.

I watched in disbelief. I know that there are swindlers and schemers out there. What amazed me was that the first woman that was interviewed agreed to fly on the perpetrator's private jet within hours of meeting him. She slept with him the same night. Subsequently, their relationship is mainly through calls and texts, and she believes that she is in a relationship. I believe if she had exercised some discretion, she wouldn't have been swindled from hundreds of thousands of dollars. Was she so quick to throw caution to the wind simply because he seemed like he had lots of money? Of course it's sad that people are being duped this way, but I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for these women.

I think the most fascinating part of this story is that of Cecilie Fjellhøy. 1,500 Tinder men scrolled through, lots of dates, and the one man she happens to fall in love with within 5 seconds happens to be a billionaire. I mean, what are the odds of that happening!