“I want a woman who would be my best friend and partner in everything. I’m talking about a relationship where we would continue to love each other more, as the days pass by” tinderswindler
Joanne, who wanted this name to be used, was at home one evening in late July 2021 with her phone in one hand, browsing Tinder.The Tinder swindler used several photos of this man, who they said was Dale Plumides. It is not known whose photo the real scammer used.
He also said he was a contractor, mainly doing rig constructions and renovations, or bridges, and sent a link to his company.“I intend quitting field works this year but likely to continue working from a home office while my men in the USA do all the field operations. Hence the reason why my company is still based in the US rather than in NZ – almost all my skilled engineers lived in the States.”The Tinder swindler used several photos of this man, who they said was Dale Plumides.
The couple spoke multiple times a day on the phone. Plumides said he was unable to talk on Skype due to the laws in Dubai. He had an American accent.Tragedy appeared to strike on August 30, when Plumides emailed Joanne to say that four staff members had suffered serious injuries at work, delaying his return to NZ.
He said his Dubai project would pay him $NZ9 million, but he was worried about hackers and did not want to keep his money in Dubai. “I hope you find a way back to nz for you and your family. I doubt I will hear from you again good luck.”“This will be the last time you’d ever hear from me.”He said he had been under a “huge amount of stress” and was sorry.Joanne did not want to send money overseas. But Plumides had a back-up plan. A friend in New Zealand had an account with Kiwibank that she could transfer the money to.
“I looked up online ‘are you being scammed’ and you just go down the 10 points it’s like yes, yes, yes … I can tick off every single one of them … Joanne contacted the police on April 7. Too embarrassed to go into a police station, she filled out a form online.His LinkedIn account no longer exists, no one responded from his work email, and his mobile phone numbers are disconnected.
A spokesperson for Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority confirmed it couldn’t find any record of Plumides or his company. Its registered address belongs to a restaurant and brewhouse renowned for its award-winning handcrafted beer. “There’s been lengthy communications and multiple parties involved in it. It’s quite obvious that it’s just not one person … it’s on too large a scale and I think the volume defrauded is too high.”“If you look at the profile that’s been used … you think success, well-manicured, middle-aged … it’s the full-corporate look and to a victim that’s fallen on hard times, has gone through some traumatic events, that’s going to be like a lifeline.
“Unfortunately, many of these types of transactions involve banks in countries where there is little or no ability for international police forces to investigate. “For privacy reasons, we cannot disclose the outcome of this investigation. However, please know that your report was evaluated, and has been actioned in accordance with our policies.”“We have a zero tolerance policy for this type of behaviour and are constantly investing in ways to keep members safe while they’re using Tinder – including a robust suite of safety features and in-app safety education, fraud detection technology, and working directly with law enforcement when needed.
Leggett was “pretty certain” the link was a phishing site – “one of the most sophisticated dating scams I’ve seen” – set up for romance scams. The site was hosted by a small British company, and had been registered last year.Red flags for romance scams included matches asking for financial details or wanting to move off the original platform to another, such as WhatsApp.
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