When the Tinder Swindler documentary dropped, immediately rocketing onto Netflix’s most-watched list in 92 countries, Cecilie Fjellhøy and Pernilla Sjoholm. ‘There is still kind of a trauma,’ Cecilie says on a video call with Grazia. ‘But I can laugh about it. I love the memes.’
But despite the many internet jokes, since the documentary’s release, Pernilla and Cecilie say they’ve received an outpouring of love from the public. Importantly, they’ve also had many women confide in them that they’ve been victims of romance fraud. Even though online romance fraud cost UK victims £63m in 2020, there's still a huge stigma attached to women being conned out of money by people they're meant to trust.
‘We get people [messaging us] who are like: how was it for you? Did you go to the police? Did they laugh at you? I'm so scared of being shamed… And this is why we’re doing what we’re doing,’ says Pernilla.
Lisa Mills, Senior Fraud Manager at the charity Victim Support tells Grazia that around a quarter of the people she now supports are victims on the crime. 'Romance fraud is remarkably common,' she says. 'Sadly, there is a lot of shame and stigma associated with this crime. We’ve supported people who are too embarrassed to tell their friends or family what has happened. Others have become too afraid to go back online or have stopped wanting to leave their house altogether. It is very easy to fall victim, romance fraudsters are skilled manipulators, so it is important that those who are targeted do not blame themselves.'
Part of the issue, as well, is sexism - as most of the public criticism for believing Simon's lies has fallen on Cecilie and Pernilla, even though Simon allegedly duped banks and companies. Pernilla adds, 'Nobody is like: oh my god stupid company for getting defrauded. [But when it] comes to me and Cecilie, it's like blame yourself, how stupid can you be?'
Both women are still paying off their debts and believe banks should do more to help them. ‘All the responsibility and all the consequences are on the victim, and there hasn't been a single [consequence] for the criminal or the system,’ says Cecilie, who has been taken to court by four banks wanting their money back.
Meanwhile, Pernilla has sued her bank and is going to trial next month. ‘I'm always going to fight,’ she says. ‘But I don't have high hopes. They're so powerful.'
There is some hope, though. More than £100,000 has been raised for the documentary’s victims on a GoFundMe page, which, ironically, the women only set up as there were so many fraudulent pages pretending to be them. ‘I didn’t want women to get defrauded and benefit another fraudster,’ says Pernilla.
However Simon is currently free, living in Israel. The last Cecilie and Pernilla heard from him was a year ago, when he told Cecilie: ‘Your lies made me a superstar’. Simon Leviev may now be infamous but the real superstars are the women brave enough to tell their story.
If you think you have been a victim of romance fraud, Victim Support can help – call their free 24/7 Supportline on 0808 16 89 111
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