Simon Leviev, the convicted fraudster known as the “Tinder Swindler,” says he plans to launch a dating app designed to protect women from romance scammers, as reported by People. Leviev, whose legal name is Shimon Hayut, says the app will be called Safe Love and that his past gives him a different set of skills for spotting fraud.
Leviev told ITV’s This Morning, “I am about to launch a dating app I’m going to call Safe Love.” He also said, “Yes, I do know how to lie,” adding that he knows how to cheat and manipulate, and he argued that those skills could help others avoid fraud. He appeared on Israeli television as well, describing himself as a rehabilitated man and a father of two.
Leviev was convicted in Israel of theft, fraud, and forgery, and in 2019 he was sentenced to 15 months in prison after being extradited from Greece. He served five months. His story reached a global audience through the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler, in which women said they met him on the app and were persuaded to send large sums of money. Leviev has denied the allegations.
The dating industry’s trade group wants Apple and Google to keep the app out of their stores.
The Online Dating and Discovery Association has written to Apple and Google, asking them to refuse to list, or to remove, any dating app founded, operated, or fronted by Leviev. Association chief Simon Newman said a convicted fraudster’s involvement in the industry “seriously undermines” the work being done to tackle fraud.
Newman added that such an app could only have “negative repercussions for platforms and users alike” and said action is needed to prevent it. Safe Love has not launched, and the association is asking the two companies to examine the app closely before deciding whether to give it access to their stores.
Becky Holmes, an author and expert on dating scams, publicly criticized both Leviev and the television appearance. Holmes wrote on LinkedIn that his victims had already been through enough without having to see his face “everywhere,” adding that she hoped his interviews would remind viewers of the harm caused by romance fraud. However, Leviev has acknowledged that his reputation means he does not expect people to trust him immediately.
Leviev has long denied that he is a fraudster. After the documentary was released, he told Inside Edition, “I was just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder,” and added, “I’m not a Tinder swindler.” Tinder said it banned him and his known aliases as soon as the story became public, and that he is permanently banned from the app.
The women featured in the film said they were told he was the heir to a diamond fortune, then sent cash, handed over credit cards, and took out loans on his behalf. The film puts the total taken from victims worldwide at roughly $10 million. Several of those women have since turned their experiences into advocacy and tools designed to keep scammers off dating platforms.
The case has also brought new scrutiny to romance scams on dating apps, as platforms have published safety guidance for users since the documentary aired. Tinder, for example, released guidelines titled “Romance Scams: How to Protect Yourself Online” a day before the film premiered. The guidance did not mention Leviev or the documentary.
No release date has been reported for Safe Love, and any launch could depend on how Apple and Google respond to the association’s letter.
Published: Oct 6, 2026 09:00 am