Simon Leviev, known as the "Tinder Swindler" from Netflix's documentary, plans to launch a dating app called Safe Love. During an ITV interview, Leviev, who was convicted of fraud in 2019, claimed his expertise in deception would help others avoid romance scams. However, the Online Dating and Discovery Association has criticized the idea, arguing that it could harm users and undermine efforts against dating platform fraud.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Simon Leviev, formerly known as Shimon Yehuda Hayut and infamous as the "Tinder Swindler," is planning to launch a new dating app called Safe Love. Leviev gained notoriety from his extensive romance fraud schemes detailed in Netflix’s documentary *The Tinder Swindler*. He has been convicted of fraud, theft, and forgery charges in both Israel and Finland, serving time in prison until May 2020. Despite criticism from the dating industry, Leviev argues that his expertise in deception can help prevent scams on his platform. However, organizations like the Online Dating and Discovery Association (ODDA) have expressed concerns over allowing a convicted fraudster to operate a dating app, which relies heavily on trust and honesty.
Written for “Tinder Swindler Launches App” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 61018 · logged 2026-10-06
Simon Leviev, the subject of Netflix’s documentary The Tinder Swindler, is planning on launching his own dating app.
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Leviev → plan → app
Leviev, who gained fame after the 2022 documentary exposed his alleged patterns of romance fraud and financial crimes, plans to call the new dating app, Safe Love.
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documentary → gain → app
During an interview with Britain’s ITV’s Morning Show, Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Yehuda Hayut, said he believes his knowledge of “how to lie” makes him the right person to help others avoid romance scams.
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others → say → scams
“I lived 10 years on a false passport so yes, I do know how to lie.
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I → live → passport
I do know how to cheat.
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I → know → ?
I do know how to manipulate.
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I → know → ?
It’s not something that I hide.
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I → ’ → that
I falsified a cheque.
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I → falsify → cheque
I lived 10 years under a false identity,” Leviev said.
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Leviev → live → identity
“Obviously I’ve been convicted.
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I → convict → ?
Obviously, I’m not proud of it but it’s made me a set of skills that some other people don’t have out there,” he added.
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he → ’m → that
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“There will be people watching this today who think it’s really distasteful that you as the ‘Tinder Swindler’ are launching a dating app,” ITV host Ben Shephard told Leviev.
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Shephard → get → Leviev
“With everything that comes with it, with the trust that has to be implicit in one of those things, when you’re notorious for being anything other than trustworthy
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you → come → things
,” Shephard added.
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Shephard → add → ?
Leviev said that he has to prove himself and “create something so great.”
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he → say → something
“Obviously, it needs to be regulated and I need to get approval.
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I → need → approval
I know unfortunately how the system works and I designed something to protect the world and there is nothing out there like this,” Leviev responded.
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Leviev → know → this
Leviev was convicted of fraud, theft and forgery in 2019 and sentenced to 15 months in prison, according to the BBC.
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Leviev → convict → BBC
He was released after serving only five months.
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He → release → months
He posed as the wealthy heir of diamond mogul Lev Leviev on the dating app and swindled women into lending him money, which he never repaid, the outlet reports.
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outlet → pose → which
His victims shared their stories in the Netflix documentary, claiming they were lured into romantic relationships with him filled with private jets and luxury holidays.
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they → share → jets
Once they were in a relationship with Leviev, the women alleged that he would pretend he was being pursued by criminals and ask them to transfer him large sums of money before disappearing.
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he → allege → money
After Leviev revealed his plans to launch the dating app, he received backlash from the Online Dating and Discovery Association.
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he → reveal → Association
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reports that the Online Dating and Discovery Association (ODDA) has sent letters to Apple and Google to ask them to cancel Leviev’s planned app and consider the harmful impact that could occur if they host a dating app founded by Leviev.
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they → report → Leviev
“In our view, a convicted fraudster having any involvement in our industry seriously undermines the work our sector is doing to tackle fraud,” ODDA chief Simon Newman told ICIJ in a statement.
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Newman → convict → statement
“It can only have negative repercussions for platforms and users alike,” he said.
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he → have → platforms
“We believe it should not be allowed to happen, and that action is needed to prevent it.”
Global News has reached out to the Online Dating and Discovery Association, Google and Apple for further comment, but has not received a response.
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News → believe → response
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