How very often do we visit the social media and just find fake news and scams? Even in our emails, text messages and in the real world, we get to meet or experience scammers. When I was in university, our thesis study was about Internet Shopping, which definitely calls for scammers. We can see nowadays how scams are happening when it comes to online shopping, like you’re gonna buy an item and receive a completely different item. I’m sure you’ve seen those memes also. But scammers are not just only in online shopping, they are actually everywhere, but what if the scammer is the one you love or the one you let in your circle? Are you really reading everyone right or you should learn more on screening scammers?

Well, this article is a back to back review of the recent Netflix shows that trended for weeks, Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna. Let’s start with Inventing Anna because this is actually on trend especially now that designer brands and socialites are hitting the limelights. This show was actually inspired by the story of the socialite-wanna-be who embezzled or should I say borrow and never paid anything, Anna Delvey or Anna Sorokin, as her real name. Anna entered the world of IT people of NYC, introducing herself as a German heiress who has a billions of trust fund. Slowly, when she arrived NYC, she gained friends from different industry, especially the big ones. The show definitely put a fictional reenactment on whatever happened with Anna Delvey while living in New York until her trial but of course some of the events were a work of fiction only but if you read articles and watch documentaries about her, the show and the documentaries were almost identical. I love how they didn’t change much but they just made some events that weren’t actually clear on reports. There were also theories made which led us to thinking that, yes, maybe she is really is, or she really did that.

But how did Anna kept up with the game for a long time? Comparing all the things that were reportedly happened in real life, which she had caused, she managed to swindle thousands of dollars from her friends and even almost got a loan for 40 million dollars to get ahold of an expensive building for her make-up dreamy foundation that was named under her name. I guess, how it definitely went smoothly was when she was able to established that she was rich, she paid for everything by cash and even tipped receptionist and hotel staffs 100 dollar bills each. I mean, working in the hotel and getting by with the tips, 100 dollar is like gold. When she managed to make friends and kept their trust towards her, she started to play along with their trust by borrowing money or even using their power, using her trust fund as a promise that she will be a big person once she got her funds. Of course, rich people will be pleased to add another rich one in their circle. This is how Anna was able to get a tight grip in the elite society of New York. She saw the flaw in the system of the rich and used that into her advantage.

The biggest turn of event for her was when she borrowed money from her friend when they went to Morocco for a holiday. Unable to pay the money back, everything that Anna has established slowly turned into nothing. What’s more interesting is that the rich ones that swindled didn’t came forward, I guess because the look that they will receive from the society will be much more deteriorating that them being scammed by thousands of dollars.

This TV series is basically a work of fiction but in shadows whatever happened on Anna Sorokin before and after the trial. Today, Anna has been released from the jail and is now creating money because of her fame and her story. What a great way to turn the tables, yeah?

There was also mentioned in the TV series, Inventing Anna, The Fyre Festival, the greatest festival that never happened, yes, she was supposed to collaborate with the Fyre Festival Swindler. However, since this is a story of fiction, I guess we will never know if they actually collaborated.

I also love how they made investigative journalism as cool as it can get, like investigative journalism is a work of art. This is one of the reasons I majored in Journalism. Knowing the answers you have in your hands are credible enough to help a case, that’s what motivated me to study my major.

On the other hand, another swindler that was on Top 10 of Netflix show was the Tinder Swindler aka Simon Leviev aka Shimon Hayut. An Israel born turned “Multimillionaire” by just borrowing money from ladies she meets in Tinder. Yes, you heard it right, he met most of his victims in Tinder. In the movie, the story revolve on the relationship of Simon and Cecilia, a Norwegian girl she met on Tinder during his visit in Europe and also Perilla, he also met her on Tinder but later on just became friends instead. But one thing they have in common is that Simon had borrowed money from them but never paid it back. In Cecilia’s case, Simon showed her the luxury of his life and everything that she can give the lady and then later on, creating a staged mugging just to get ahold of photos to later on use on making his situation look legit. He managed to make Cecilia believed that his life is on danger and then when she gave the money, Simon used her money to get a new girlfriend and then later on he borrows from Perilla and the act continued until Cecilia decided to seek help from the biggest newspaper in Norway, making it more easy for Simon’s victim to come out.

I know, you will say that why lend someone that huge cash or even get a loan for him just to save his ass; we can’t blame Cecilia coz at that moment she was his girlfriend and to think that your boyfriend is in danger, I’m sure that we will do the same thing that Cecilia did. It is also a good thing that she was able to seek help from the American Express, and they knew Simon beforehand and was looking for him. But the best thing in this documentary is when the swindler got swindled by his current girlfriend. She sold all the designer clothes and everything that Simon had coz after the news about the Tinder Swindler came, she was cancelled immediately and everyone knows his face which made it hard for him to fool any other ladies. And then finally, he was caught by the authorities and was sent to Israel to face his old cases in the country.

The question is, how can we know whom the swindlers are? I don’t know, really. It’s hard to determine nowadays and specially with money, this is the root of evil, we will never know who we can trust. I think the lesson we can learn from this two shows is simple, money is everywhere, it’s up to you how to play with it and money doesn’t choose no one. It can give you a reason to do evil or control yourself from doing something that will bring you down.

Simon’s style to getting money was really a big drama to fulfill but I think Anna’s style was easier, she just go to rich people and introducing herself to everyone as a German heiress without creating a huge drama of having enemies and other stuff. Simon was able to get passport copies of the ladies and tried to scare them like it was 1975, ha!Of course, we should never send to someone our passport details and our real address but how can you not if it is your boyfriend? Make sense, yeah? Nice move, Simon.

What I noticed lately is that scams are really everywhere and I think there’s no scape from it. In emails we can also see scams, the ones asking you to click and save your information and you thought the message from the bank, yes, it happened to all of us that’s why let’s be aware of the scams goofing around the internet and even in our surroundings. Like nowadays, it is really hard, we will never know who will take advantage of having our trust and even our money. My friends and I were having discussion if how can couples really tell that they can trust their person on handling money through a joint account; most of them said that they trust them enough to even let their partners know how much they have in their banks, some of them said that sometimes, if one of them needs money, they will never borrow or let someone use anything or waste anything from their joint account, instead they always should ask their parents for money first then friends and then girlfriend, right?

If scammers are as sleek and brainy as Anna and Simon, I think there can be an academy for all the ones who knows how to scam. Funny but true, the money they got from their friends were still being paid by them, specially Cecilia who trusted Simon so much and now she is still paying the debts she had on her card and other restaurants. Imagine paying for a money that you never used.

All in all, these shows are an eye opener for everyone who meet people from the outside of their circle, or beautiful men and women who swipe right in tinder and other dating app, trusting their dates immediately. I give both of them a 88% wonderroanne rating.

For those who haven’t watch it, Inventing Anna and tinder Swindler are available in Netflix.