By Eleni Poulos
The documentary, Tinder Swindler, looks at the story of Simon Hayut, who posed as the son of a diamond mogul and used the popular dating app Tinder to meet women and manipulate them into providing him money.[1] Ultimately, Hayut scammed approximately $10 million from these women.[2] Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident.[3] It is reported that Americans alone lost nearly $1 billion in 2021 to online dating scams like the Tinder Swindler.[4] The law protects those who are financially harmed by online dating scams and in the aftermath of Hayut’s con, the victims sued in hopes of recovering the money they lost during their “relationship” with Hayut. Though, recourse is not always successful.[5] For example, one of Hayut’s victims, Pernilla Sjöholm recently lost a battle in court against the banks she believes in partially responsible for the scam.[6] Another victim of Hayut’s—Ayleen Charlotte—lost her case against the bank, ING.[7] But what about those victims that do not necessarily lose their money, but instead lose their time and emotional stability?
Laws in the United States do not adequately protect against falsehoods and manipulation on dating applications, even though studies show that individuals using online dating apps, like Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble, often lie about their name, relationship status, and appearance.[8] More than half the respondents in a study by B2B International and Kaspersky Lab, admitted to lying in their profiles.[9] As a result, a law professor at Hofstra University, Irina Manta, focused extensively in this area and uses the term “sexual fraud” to define this type of behavior.[10] She makes three main arguments for addressing it.[11] First, she argues that because of the ineffectiveness of criminal law in these circumstances, the courts should use a rendition of trademark law to “reduce search costs and deception in the dating marketplace, just as we do in the economic marketplace.”[12] Manta also argues that legal recourse would be more effective, if the process could take advantage of slam claims courts as a way of “discourage[ing]” behaviors that may bring significant dignitary, emotional, and other harms” to the individuals using these dating apps.[13] Finally, she argues that statutory damages should be available to victims of sexual fraud.[14] She makes the point that proving this fraudulent behavior and thus allowing an individual to recover damages is easier now than ever—since the evidence is saved on these dating apps.[15] Overall, the theory requires that a profile be truthful and that what is advertised on an individual’s profile does not mislead another, or pay the consequences of fraudulent behavior.[16] Manta believes this is an integral first step in making online dating, and the Internet more generally, a safe place to be. [17]
Nevertheless, though legal recourse for this kind of sexual fraud is limited, states have formed legislation to help protect their citizens. Though this is a positive step, the legislation still has a way to go. As more and more stories of scams like the Tinder Swindler come to light, it’s fair to assume that the law may also evolve to protect individuals using these apps. If it doesn’t, will the responsibility begin to fall on the app developers themselves?
[1] The Tinder Swindler, Wikipedia (Mar. 13, 2022), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tinder_Swindler.
[2] Id.
[3] Maya Yang, American Lost $1bn to Tinder-Swindler style romance cons last year, FBI says, The Guardian, (Feb. 15, 2022), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/15/tinder-swindler-americans-romance-scam-con-fbi.
[4] Id.
[5] See Emily Smith, ‘Tinder Swindler’ victim suffers legal setback, Page Six, (Mar. 14, 2022), https://pagesix.com/2022/03/14/tinder-swindler-victim-pernilla-sjoholm-suffers-legal-setback/.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Amy Polacko, Netflix’s ‘Tinder Swindler’ isn’t alone. Beware Match monsters and Bumble betrayers, too, NBC News, (Feb. 11, 2022), https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/netflix-tinder-swindler-simon-leviev-isn-t-only-dating-app-ncna1288981.
[9] Id.
[10] Irina D. Manta, Tinder Lies, 54 Wake Forest L. Rev. 207, 207 (2019).
[11] Id. at 207.
[12] Id.
[13] Id. at 207-08.
[14] Id. at 208.
[15] Manta, supra note 10, at 236.
[16] Polacko, supra note 8.
[17] Manta, supra note 10, at 249.
Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/51035749109@N01/8637598848