It’s jaw-dropping stuff that beggars belief and South Africans everywhere have either watched it or are planning on watching it.
And if you’re late to the party, here’s a brief recap: The con-man investigated in the recently released documentary, Shimon Hayut, allegedly met women on Tinder before swindling them out of millions after catfishing them into believing his name was 'Simon Leviev', and that he was the son of Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev.
The documentary has sparked a massive Twitter debate about gullibility with some offering sympathy to the victims and others scathing in their criticism. @GinaLouLoves posted :
I’m really trying to feel sorry the women on #TheTinderSwindler #tinderswindler but I can’t! Why would a billionaire ask YOU for money?! pic.twitter.com/Sn42jhuN27
— Georgina (@GinaLouLoves) February 2, 2022
@rotimismith said :
Simon Leviev is a dirtbag yes, but you have to be a special type of slow if a billionaire is asking you for money, thats the part I dont understand #TheTinderSwindler pic.twitter.com/NROjMgEQ1O
— Rotimi Of Istanbul (@rotimismith1st) February 3, 2022
And our very own Marc Lottering got in on the action!
Just watched Tinder Swindler. I see Simon was in Cape Town. I actually remember seeing him at the Waterfront. He looked at me with interest. But changed his mind when he saw me go into kfc. Shoo. I got lucky #StreetwiseSavedMe
— Marc Lottering (@marclottering) February 6, 2022
When the documentary was released last week, it reported that Hayut was still active on Tinder. However, Tinder has now banned him from the dating ap telling Variety:“We have conducted internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is no longer active on Tinder under any of his known aliases.”
If you go to his Instagram account there are just two pictures and a caption that reads: "Instagram deleted my old account… This account is the official one with my original surname. Thank you all for your trust!!"
If you have yet to see it, watch the trailer right here. And watch the media - this story is definitely not over.
