SA psychiatrist says psychopathic behaviour, as displayed by Shimon Hayut (also known as Simon Leviev) in the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler, is not only reserved for romantic encounters but also stalk office corridors too. The Tinder Swindler aka Simon Leviev (right) with his bodyguard Peter in front of Table Mountain in Cape Town on his former Instagram page @simon_leviev_official which has since been closed.
DURBAN - South African psychiatrist Professor Renata Schoeman has put together lists of warning signs and tips on how to safeguard yourself against people who swindle others on Tinder and other social media platforms.
This comes after the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler sparked debate, with some stating that the women should have known better.
Schoeman, who is the head of the MBA Health Care Leadership programme at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), says it is not as straightforward as assuming the women were gullible.
The documentary tells the story of Israeli conman Shimon Hayut (also known as Simon Leviev), who wooed women and swindled his victims out of millions. He used the money swindled from one victim to woo the next with lavish gifts.
Schoeman said Hayut is obviously a charismatic man who knows just when to turn on the charm and when to display what appears to be genuine vulnerability.
“His deception has been thorough, luring his victims by going to great lengths to portray a credible profile of success and a lavish lifestyle that would attract their interest and admiration. It was all premeditated and extremely well planned,” she said.
Schoeman said Hayut has the ability to identify vulnerable targets. He has a predatory drive for domination, financial extortion and deceit.
“It’s enormously difficult to catch a psychopath in the act. They are pathological liars and purposefully deceive people to conceal their modus operandi. They strategically plan their deceitful stories and use their superficial charm to get one addicted, leaving you doubting your valid suspicions and ending up as the victim,” she said.
She said psychopaths are ruthless when pursuing something that they want, without any concern for those around them.
Many people will claim that this could never happen to them. However, Schoeman says cases such as these are not as uncommon as we think.
“Psychopathic behaviour is also not only reserved for romantic encounters; psychopaths stalk office corridors too, with lasting mental health impacts on their victims,” she said.
Schoeman lists warning signs to look out for:
Tips on how to safeguard yourself:
THE MERCURY
Related Topics: