Simon Leviev, the convicted fraudster known worldwide as the 'Tinder Swindler', says his knowledge of how to lie, cheat and manipulate now gives him skills that could help him create a dating app built around safety. The 35-year-old, whose birth name is Shimon Hayut, is promoting a planned platform called Safe Love after becoming the subject of Netflix's 2022 documentary The Tinder Swindler.
The pitch has already triggered pushback from the dating industry. On Tuesday, 22 September 2026, the Online Dating and Discovery Association publicised a letter, dated 17 September, asking Apple and Google to refuse to list or immediately remove any dating app founded, operated or fronted by Leviev.
Leviev has framed his past as part of why he believes he can tackle the problem. During a televised interview on 16 September 2026, he said: 'I know, unfortunately, how the system works, and I designed something to protect the world.'
Leviev Says His Past Gives Him Skills Others Do Not Have
Notorious ‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev, has been arrested in Georgia by Interpol
— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) September 15, 2025
Between 2017 and 2019, he allegedly scammed victims across Europe out of an estimated $10 million pic.twitter.com/vvTsrBHsmI
Leviev was challenged over why people should trust a safety-focused dating product associated with him. He acknowledged that he has 'zero trust' from the public and said he would have to prove himself by creating something strong enough to secure approval. He also openly said he knows how to 'lie', 'cheat' and 'manipulate', arguing that his past as a fraudster had given him a different set of skills that could help others avoid fraud.
That argument sits at the centre of the Safe Love pitch: Leviev says understanding how systems can be exploited could help him design protections against similar tactics. He has described the proposed app as a safer space for women, although detailed public information about its verification, moderation and anti-fraud systems remains limited. His own comments describe Safe Love as something he is 'about to launch', rather than confirming that the product is already live in major app stores.
The 'Tinder Swindler' Case Still Shapes the Backlash
Leviev became globally known after The Tinder Swindler followed women who alleged that he posed as the son of diamond magnate Lev Leviev, built relationships with them and persuaded them to provide large sums of money after claiming he faced threats from enemies.
Leviev has denied defrauding the women featured in the documentary and has previously described himself as a legitimate businessman. Tinder said in 2022 that Leviev and his known aliases had been permanently banned from the platform and that an internal investigation found no active account under his known aliases.
Watch below: Netflix revisits how Simon Leviev became known as the 'Tinder Swindler' and the allegations at the centre of the documentary.
His criminal record predates the Netflix documentary. Finnish authorities convicted him in 2015 of defrauding three women, while an Israeli court sentenced him to 15 months in prison in 2019 after convictions involving fraud and related offences. The 2019 conviction was separate from Cecilie Fjellhøy's allegations featured in the documentary, which Leviev has denied.
Apple and Google Face Calls To Keep Safe Love Off App Stores
The Online Dating and Discovery Association has now turned the controversy into an app-store issue. In its letter to Apple and Google, the group said the dating sector had spent years introducing safeguards against romance fraud, including verification systems, AI safety tools and in-app warnings. It argued that allowing Leviev to operate a dating platform would represent 'a very real risk to users'.
The association specifically asked Apple and Google to refuse to list or immediately remove any dating app founded, operated or fronted by Leviev. Leviev, meanwhile, has said Safe Love would need approval and regulation before moving forward, adding: 'I have to create something so great.' Whether Safe Love ultimately appears on Apple's App Store or Google Play now depends in part on how the companies respond to Leviev's proposed platform and the ODDA's request.
