Swipe, swipe, swipe. I spent countless days on Tinder trying to find my match and for a moment I thought I did but he turned out to be a Tinder Swindler. Let me take you back to how it started. I had just landed a job as a flight attendant and I had high hopes for the future. At first, everything went as I expected. I made friends and the job was beyond exciting. However, after a few months, COVID hit and we were literally grounded. I had nowhere to go or anything to do which was unusual for me since I was used to being on the move.
My friend suggested that I try Tinder to keep myself busy since I was getting lonely. It didn’t sound like a bad idea. I knew there were some horror stories about the app but I had also heard many success stories so I was optimistic. Besides, what was the worst that could happen? We were all on lockdown.
Finding a perfect match was harder than I thought. I spent days that turned to weeks trying to find someone I was genuinely interested in. When I thought I found one, they didn’t live up to expectations.
“Hey, gorgeous.” One guy messaged me after we matched.
“Hi.”
Minutes later, he texted back. “Send me your nudes.”
I blocked him immediately. Just as I was on the verge of deleting the app, I got another message.
“Hey, love. You look stunning.”
“Hey. Thank you.”
I held my breath waiting to see if he would ask me for nudes. He didn’t.
“I want to meet you. Are you available tomorrow?”
Since it was at the height of the pandemic, all eateries and entertainment joints were closed. There weren’t many date options so I wasn’t that eager to go on a date. However, he insisted that he had a plan.
“Sure. What’s the plan?” I replied after he convinced me to meet him.
“You’ll see.”
To be honest, I would have been down for anything at that point since all I wanted was a little human interaction. We exchanged numbers and he texted me on WhatsApp telling me he had deleted Tinder. I don’t know why it made me happy but it did. I followed suit and deleted the app.
We continued texting for close to an hour.
“What do you do?” I asked him.
“I own a construction company.”
“Nice.”
He then asked for my Instagram handle.
“You’re a flight attendant?” he asked.
“Yes,”
“That’s really great. Now I can’t wait to meet you.”
We agreed to meet at a particular place in the CBD. I was worried that he wouldn’t show so I called my friend in advance and let her know I would stop by her office. However, he showed up. In fact, he was there before I even arrived.
“Nice to finally meet you.” He said.
“Nice to meet you too. So, where are we going?”
“Well, get in and I’ll tell you.” He answered pointing at a white BMW X6.
I knew he was a bit flashy. His Instagram said it all but I thought it was all for show. I was happily surprised. We got in and he removed his mask.
“Get comfortable,” he said suggesting that I remove my mask. I did and he smiled. “You’re very beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I said. “You know, I still don’t know what you’ve planned for today.”
“Oh, do you mind if we go to an Airbnb? I know it’s a bit fast but there are no other options for now. I promise I’m not a serial killer or a rapist. If you’re not comfortable I can call you an Uber to take you back home.”
I stopped to think about all the terrible things that could happen but I decided to go against my instincts. In hindsight, I should have opted to go home but I would have never expected such a guy to be a swindler.
Once I agreed, we drove to one of those posh apartments in Kileleshwa. Everything was going great. We ordered a lot of things from the Java menu and there was even some Moet champagne. We spent the whole afternoon getting to know each other better.
“It’s getting late. I have to leave.”
“Okay. Let me call you an Uber.”
He called one which arrived shortly after.
This became a regular thing. He’d ask me to come to the apartment and we’d spend the whole day together. After a few weeks, I felt comfortable with him and I ended up sleeping at the apartment. The following morning, he ordered breakfast for me before I left.
I kept telling my friends about this incredible guy I had met on Tinder. However, they thought he was too good to be true.
“Babe, be careful he doesn’t end up being a scammer.”
“He won’t. I have known him for almost a month now and nothing seems out of the ordinary.”
Well, I spoke too soon. Barely a week after I spent the night with him, he called me in a panic.
“Sasha, where are you?” he asked.
“I’m in the house. Why? What’s going on?”
“Did you see my WhatsApp?”
I started getting worried.
“No, what happened?”
“Check and reply. Please, it’s urgent.”
I opened his message. It read:
“Please babe, can you send me 200k? I’m trying to finalize a business deal and my bank app is acting up. I promise I’ll refund you by tonight. In fact, I’ll add you something extra.”
It was the audacity for me. I stared at my phone in shock wondering how he would feel comfortable asking me for such an insane amount of money. I had never even sent my mother that kind of money. So, why would I send someone I had met a month ago? It was obvious I was dealing with a swindler. I blocked his number immediately and never heard from him since that day.
After watching The Tinder Swindler, I realized what exactly had happened to me and that there could be other women who had fallen victim to this guy. I went on Tinder to see if we were still matched. We weren’t and I had already deleted his number. Even his Instagram was inactive. There was no way for me to warn people about the guy but I hope somebody finally stopped him since his Tinder and Instagram accounts were inactive.
More stories on The Singlehood Series:
The Man Of My Dreams Turned Out To Be A Scammer
She Met A Good Christian Man On Social Media Who Ended Up Being A Facebook Swindler
My Tinder Date Threatened To Kill Me When We Met
I Had Three Crazy Tinder Experiences Which Forced Me To Delete The App
I Went On A Date With My Instagram Stalker Without Knowing It
The Date Was Going Well So She Didn’t Expect That Kind Of Disrespect
Dating A Smooth Operator – He Came, He Saw, He Conquered And Then He Broke My Heart
I Tried Tinder And Did Not Like It
The Singlehood Series: My Date Tried To Bribe Me With An Expensive Gift
