The Tindler Swindler debuted on Netflix on Wednesday night and viewers watching at home couldn’t get enough.
The gripping new crime documentary focused on serial fraudster Shimon Hayut, who posed as the son of a billionaire Israeli diamond merchant to swindle women he dated out of thousands of pounds.
And watching the thrilling scenes play out, viewers rushed to share their thoughts on Twitter, with one insisting the show – from the makers of Don’t F**k with Cats – is a ‘must watch’.
Hooked: The Tindler Swindler debuted on Netflix on Wednesday night and viewers watching at home couldn’t get enough
Based on real life events, Shimon was seen posing as billionaire Simon Leviev, with the show seeing the accounts of three women who were conned out of thousands of pounds after meeting the conman on dating app Tinder.
The main focus centered on Norwegian graduate student Cecilie Fjellhoy, who was swindled out of a whopping £200,000 after being swept off her feet by ‘Simon’ who wooed her after flying them from Bulgaria from London via a private plane on their first date.
As their relationship continued, Cecilie found herself handing over thousands of pounds to the handsome charmer as he begged her for money to protect his identity from people who were out to kill him.
Eventually, Cecilie clocked that her partner wasn’t who he said he was and soon joined forces with his other female victims in a bid to bring him to justice.
Conman: The gripping new crime documentary focused on serial fraudster Shimon Hayut (pictured), who posed as the son of a billionaire Israeli diamond merchant to swindle women he dated out of thousands of pounds
And viewers at home couldn’t get enough as they took to social media to share their excitement about Netflix’s latest offering.
‘#TheTinderSwindler a must watch. Not only to know swindlers are there but you can be strong like Cecilie, Pernilla and wise like Ayleen’ tweeted one person.
While a second said: ‘Slept at 2 am last night because just before I turned the TV off at my usual 12am bedtime, I decided to watch 5 minutes of #TheTinderSwindler, and ended up watching the whole thing.’
‘Watching #TheTinderSwindler and oh my f**king God what a story and what a well made docu’ gushed a third watcher.
‘My fellow Gender .. this is a must watch .. #TheTinderSwindler .. Wow never knew such emotional fraudsters Exist’ said a fourth.
Victims: Based on real life events, Shimon was seen posing as billionaire Simon Leviev, with the show seeing the accounts of three women who were conned out of thousands of pounds after meeting the conman on dating app Tinder
With a fifth person adding: ‘Honestly was about to give up on Netflix but I’ve just watched #TheTinderSwindler and now I’m watching #ThePuppetMaster and I ain’t ever deleting this app.’
The official synopsis for the programme reads: Swipe, swipe, swipe… It’s not easy to find love online, so when Cecilie matches with a handsome billionaire playboy, she can’t quite believe it when he turns out to be the man of her dreams.
‘But dreams aren’t reality and by the time she discovers this international businessman isn’t who he says he is, it’s too late. He’s taken her for everything.
‘Where this fairytale ends, a revenge thriller begins. Cecilie discovers his other targets and once they band together, they’re victims no more: THE TINDER SWINDLER meets his match.’
Hayut was eventually arrested and imprisoned in December 2019 at Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, according to The Times Of Israel, but released the following May, after serving five months of his 15-month sentence.
Tricked: The main focus centered on Norwegian graduate student Cecilie Fjellhoy, who was swindled out of a whopping £200,000 after being swept off her feet by ‘Simon’
Fraud: ‘Simon’ wooed Cecilie with gifts and even flew them from Bulgaria from London via a private plane on their first date
During the sentencing hearing, the conman told the court he was ‘sorry about everything’ and promised to ‘pay my debt to society’.
He was also ordered to pay his victims $43,289 and to pay a fine of $5,771 under the terms of a plea deal.
According to an investigative report by Norway’s Verdens Gang newspaper, Hayut conned women in Norway, Finland and Sweden out of hundreds of thousands of dollars using a Ponzi scheme.
He would shower women he met on the dating app with lavish trips and gifts, using money he had taken from other women. He would then ask for more money under the guise of needing to protect his identity due to security concerns.
Speaking about the moment she realised she’d been conned, Cecilie told ABC’s Nightline in 2019: ‘I almost wanted to throw up, it was the first time in my life that I had gotten such a shock that my body physically was telling me that, “OK your life is ruined”.’
Reaction: Watching the thrilling scenes play out, viewers rushed to share their thoughts on Twitter, with one insisting the show – from the makers of Don’t F**k with Cats – is a ‘must watch’
While speaking on ITV’s Lorraine ahead of the show’s release, Fjellhoy admitted she wasn’t going to give up on love – and explained that she had been victim-blamed and called a gold-digger after sharing her story.
Fjellhoy said: ‘I think what happened was so extraordinary and it was such a weird and movie like what it was, and I didn’t want to put that on other men, it’s not other men’s fault what he did to me.
‘And he’s taken so much from us. I didn’t want him to take that part of me, that truly believes in love and I’m still trying but it’s been painful.’
Caught: Hayut was eventually arrested and imprisoned in December 2019 at Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, according to The Times Of Israel, but released the following May, after serving five months of his 15-month sentence
Fjellhoy, who appeared on the programme alongside another of Hayut’s victims Pernilla Sjoholm, admitted that after sharing her story, she was victim-blamed.
‘We kind of knew it might come, but to be called a gold-digger for giving out money, like we said, we must be the worst gold-diggers in history.’
Fjellhoy, who is now bankrupt in the UK but whose loans are mostly in Norway, says she was conned out of more than £200,000 by Hayut.
‘The thing is that they are very smart about it,’ she told presenter Lorraine Kelly. ‘He doesn’t ask for money the first time, it’s more security of the name.
‘I know it’s the same thing but when you’re in it, he’s asking “I can’t use my cards, like they’re going to track my name, can I use your card?” So that’s how they started it.’
The Tinder Swindler is available to watch on Netflix now.
Doomed romance:Fjellhoy (pictured with Hayut), 29 at the time, was a Norwegian graduate student living in the British capital when she was swept off her feet by the self-proclaimed, ‘Prince of Diamonds’, then 28
Conned: Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, Fjellhoy (pictured) admitted she wasn’t going to give up on love – and explained that she had been victim-blamed and called a gold-digger after sharing her story
