Tinder Swindler Instagram account missing, banned from dating apps

Simon Leviev alias Shimon Hayut has been accused of swindling women on dating apps. [Courtesy]

Simon Leviev, popularly known as the TinderSwindler, has been reportedly banned from using online dating applications and his initial Instagram account deleted.

This happened days after a Netflix documentary exposing his tricks on women went viral globally on all social media platforms, giving him a hard time finding new victims on dating apps.

A representative of Match Group (Tinder’s parent group), told a US-based tabloid, TMZ, that Simon had been permanently banned from all of their properties.

The representative said that Leviev violated the terms and conditions of service at Tinder, and therefore the other partner companies will also not allow him to create a profile on the other platforms.

Tinder said it has banned Simon Leviev.

“We have conducted internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is no longer active on Tinder under any of his known aliases,” a Tinder spokeswoman said. 

The documentary said when it was released on February 2 that Mr Leviev was back on Tinder. A spokeswoman for the dating app said that Mr Leviev was banned from Tinder in 2019, but unsuccessfully tried to create an account in 2021.

Furthermore, Simon’s Instagram account with more than 100,000 followers, which was featured in the documentary, was no longer available by Monday, February 8. 

The only accounts present online were mostly recently created and with way fewer followers.

“The Tinder Swindler,” is a new documentary on the movies streaming platform, Netflix, and is barely a month old since its premiere.

The two-hour production was produced by London-based production company Raw.

It focuses on the stories of three women: Ayleen Charlotte, Cecilie Fjellhoy and Pernilla Sjöholm, who were swindled by Simon Leviev.

According to the documentary, the three had separate but similar incidents with Mr Leviev between 2018 and 2019. 

In the documentary, they allege that after matching with Mr Leviev on the dating site, he told them he was the son of a billionaire and then took them on high-end dates.

They would meet their ‘man’ in private jet rides or over meals at luxurious hotels around Europe, mostly Amsterdam, Oslo and London.

After familiarising themself with him, the victims allege in the documentary that Mr Leviev would message them saying he was in trouble.

He sent them similar pictures of his friend covered in blood, claiming that he had been attacked by his enemies and that his bodyguard saved him.

It is at this point that he starts asking for money, saying his accounts had been frozen because his enemies were tracing his transactions.

Out of pity and care for the one they love, the women say they would send him money to help him, but the women say in the documentary that he didn’t pay them back. 

The documentary alleges that Mr Leviev’s given name was Shimon Hayut and that he had also used other names and identities. The film shows him being arrested in Athens in 2019 for using a fake passport but released after five months.

When asked to appear in the documentary by the filmmakers he sent a voice message saying “I will proceed with the lawsuit against you for defamation and lies and, you know..."

The filmmakers made an effort and visited his home to speak to his parents but they denied knowledge of him. This was after they had established his real identity.

His home is a different picture from what he portrays online.

"He is not my son, I don't know him. My son is Shimon Hayut," his mom tells the filmmakers.