Tinder Swindler: Woman loses all life savings as her Tinder match turns out to be a scammer; here is what happened
According to a Daily Mail report, a woman named Rebecca Holloway was just recovering from a divorce after having a messed up second marriage. The woman, a mother of three kids, was thus vulnerable and believed she had found love yet again in her Tinder match.
- Jun 19, 2023,
- Updated Jun 19, 2023 8:12 PM IST
Dating apps are not just a platform to find love, but now scammers are also using them to find new targets. In a recent case of an online scam, a 42-year-old woman lost her life savings when her Tinder match turned out to be a scammer.
According to a Daily Mail report, a woman named Rebecca Holloway was just recovering from a divorce after having a messed up second marriage. The woman, a mother of three kids, was thus vulnerable and believed she had found love yet again in her Tinder match.
She met the man in March on Tinder, and he told her that he was a French businessman named Fred. However, they never met in person, and he was even reluctant to show his face on video calls. He would primarily stay in touch with Rebecca via text, and the woman believed their relationship was blossoming into something special. “Looking back, the signs are so obvious. But at the time, you want to believe it's real,” Rebecca told the Daily Mail.
She added, "Single women approaching middle age are so vulnerable. We have money, but we might not have met the right guy yet. And suddenly, this good-looking man starts talking to you, and you're excited."
To strengthen Rebecca’s trust in him, 'Fred' told her he had a daughter and was living in Philadelphia. Over time, as the pair's 'relationship' developed, Fred began telling Rebecca about his cryptocurrency investments and eventually persuaded her to invest in the same.
He first convinced her to invest $1,000 in a fake cryptocurrency platform, and Rebecca earned USD168 on her initial investments. Initially, Rebecca could transfer her earnings to her bank account, which made her trust the platform, and Fred, even more.
She then invested another $6,000, and her returns continued growing. Eventually, she invested her entire life savings, amounting to $401,000, on the platform and couldn't transfer it to her bank account.
She also told the Daily Mail that she only realised that she had been scammed after a friend told her about the recent spike in such cases.
A similar case was reported in India last month, where a 37-year-old woman working for a private firm in Bengaluru accused her Tinder match of duping her of Rs 4.5 lakh.
Dating apps are not just a platform to find love, but now scammers are also using them to find new targets. In a recent case of an online scam, a 42-year-old woman lost her life savings when her Tinder match turned out to be a scammer.
According to a Daily Mail report, a woman named Rebecca Holloway was just recovering from a divorce after having a messed up second marriage. The woman, a mother of three kids, was thus vulnerable and believed she had found love yet again in her Tinder match.
She met the man in March on Tinder, and he told her that he was a French businessman named Fred. However, they never met in person, and he was even reluctant to show his face on video calls. He would primarily stay in touch with Rebecca via text, and the woman believed their relationship was blossoming into something special. “Looking back, the signs are so obvious. But at the time, you want to believe it's real,” Rebecca told the Daily Mail.
She added, "Single women approaching middle age are so vulnerable. We have money, but we might not have met the right guy yet. And suddenly, this good-looking man starts talking to you, and you're excited."
To strengthen Rebecca’s trust in him, 'Fred' told her he had a daughter and was living in Philadelphia. Over time, as the pair's 'relationship' developed, Fred began telling Rebecca about his cryptocurrency investments and eventually persuaded her to invest in the same.
He first convinced her to invest $1,000 in a fake cryptocurrency platform, and Rebecca earned USD168 on her initial investments. Initially, Rebecca could transfer her earnings to her bank account, which made her trust the platform, and Fred, even more.
She then invested another $6,000, and her returns continued growing. Eventually, she invested her entire life savings, amounting to $401,000, on the platform and couldn't transfer it to her bank account.
She also told the Daily Mail that she only realised that she had been scammed after a friend told her about the recent spike in such cases.
A similar case was reported in India last month, where a 37-year-old woman working for a private firm in Bengaluru accused her Tinder match of duping her of Rs 4.5 lakh.