Bad People

108. I was Tinder Swindled


Listen Later

Presenters Dr Julia Shaw and Amber Haque meet the world's most famous victim of romance fraud: Cecilie Fjellhoy. After exposing the so-called Tindler Swindler in a Netflix hit, Cecilie confronted him in person and set up a campaign to help other victims.

Cecilie's life changed radically after she swiped right on the Tinder profile of Simon Leviev.

He took her on a private jet on their first date, told her he was the son of a billionaire diamond dealer and seemed to live a jet set life. But though he dressed in designer clothes from head to toe, drove expensive cars and had an entourage that included a chauffeur and a bodyguard, the handsome Israeli was actually a convicted fraudster whose real name was Shimon Hayut.

Once he knew Cecilie had fallen in love with him, he told her his life was in danger and that he needed to stay alive. He maxed out her credit card immediately and then begged her to get more money. She managed to borrow nearly $200,000 which he promised to pay back but he never did. She ended up bankrupt and depressed while he moved on to defrauding other women.

She tells Julia and Amber about life after Netflix - and discusses the psychological tricks that romance fraudsters play.

Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Amber Haque

Producer: Shabnam Grewal
Executive Producer: Innes Bowen
Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister
Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey
Researcher: Rhiannon Cobb
Mix Engineer: John Scott
Recording Studio: 88Hertz
Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins
Assistant Commissioners: Izzy Lee-Poulton, Adam Eland and Sarah Green

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Bad PeopleBy BBC Radio 5 Live

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

190 ratings


More shows like Bad People

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,448 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,808 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,661 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,761 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,114 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,080 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,055 Listeners

All Killa No Filla by Kiri Pritchard - McLean

All Killa No Filla

1,240 Listeners

UK True Crime Podcast by Always True Crime

UK True Crime Podcast

705 Listeners

RedHanded by Wondery | RedHanded

RedHanded

12,566 Listeners

Evil Genius with Russell Kane by BBC Sounds

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

363 Listeners

Seeing Red A True Crime Podcast by Seeing Red

Seeing Red A True Crime Podcast

394 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,200 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

724 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,048 Listeners

The Slow Newscast by The Observer

The Slow Newscast

176 Listeners

Uncanny by BBC Radio 4

Uncanny

599 Listeners

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley by BBC Radio 4

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

512 Listeners

The Trial: High School Stabbing by Daily Mail

The Trial: High School Stabbing

149 Listeners

Marianna in Conspiracyland by BBC Radio 4

Marianna in Conspiracyland

51 Listeners

Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling by BBC Radio 5 Live

Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling

96 Listeners

The Rest Is Entertainment by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Entertainment

893 Listeners

The Louis Theroux Podcast by Spotify Studios

The Louis Theroux Podcast

266 Listeners

Intrigue by BBC Radio 4

Intrigue

172 Listeners

The Pitcairn Trials by Always True Crime

The Pitcairn Trials

75 Listeners