The Tinder Swindler: Does Simon Leviev have a TikTok account?

The Tinder Swindler has taken Netflix by storm, and apparently he’s now on TikTok.

Spoilers ahead!

The documentary tells the story of Simon Leviev, or Shimon Hayut, an Israeli scam artist was allegedly at the centre of a £7.4m Ponzi scheme. He would sweep women off their feet in the initial stages of dating while purporting to be the son of an Israeli diamond tycoon. But soon, he would claim his “enemies” were on his tail and he would ask the women to send him money to fund his security.

After just spending a short stint in prison, he’s now out and living it up with his new girlfriend in Israel.

When the documentary was released, he deleted his Instagram before reactivating it briefly to post a statement to deny that he is a “fraud”.

A TikTok account, using the same username as his Instagram, has cropped up in recent days.

According to The Tab, the account features a selection of videos and pictures that were not seen on the documentary or on his Instagram.

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The bio on the account reads: “My part of the story Coming Soon. Have an amazing day everyone!” It also claims he has a new Instagram.

The account has so far garnered 43,000 followers and 120,000 likes, and the videos have each received hundreds of thousands of views.

However, there are a few things that don’t add up.

The first video to the account was only posted six days ago, and the videos seem clipped in a way that appears to take them out of context.

Some of them feature Leviev saying something generic in the video before the person behind the account added a caption related to the documentary.

For example, one such video shows Leviev driving and wishing everyone a great day. The caption reads: “When you realise the Netflix Documentary was a success”.

But given it was revealed that he threatened the filmmakers with a lawsuit at the end of the documentary, and he’s since denied the claims made in the special, we’re suspicious that he would consider it a “success”.

His ex-girlfriend Polina, a Russian model who dumped him at the end of the Netflix film, also features in the clips - making it look less and less likely it’s actually Leviev behind the TikTok account.

In the comment section of a video where a flashy car is shown off, one commenter asked: “How many girls from Tinder pay for that?”. The account holder replied: “Soooo many”.

But given how staunchly the true Tinder Swindler denies any claims of wrong-doing and the public mood after the release of the film, we’re not convinced he would even joke about it on TikTok.

Another video of a different car is captioned: “You paid for it, so have a magnificent day” and has the hashtag “#TinderMoney”.

Yeah, we doubt it’s him.

Other comments supposedly from Leviev also seem too “jokey” to be genuine.

In the comment section of his first video, the account holder wrote: “Feel free to send me your cash. I accept all the major credit cards.”

Hmmm.

Viewers have also cottoned on that it’s very unlikely to be the real swindler behind the account.

On a video showing his ex, one viewer wrote: “Y’all thinking this is really his page?! That’s his ex who dumped him these videos are so old.”

Other journalists have also highlighted their suspicions over the account. In the comment section on one of the videos, a Buzzfeed journalist said she would love for him to verify that this account is actually his.

As a test, perhaps we should petition for him to pose with today’s newspaper while he talks about his new TikTok venture…

indy100 has contacted the account for comment.

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