Love And The Jetsetting Con Man

 

     Netflix, currently, has two documentaries about con men, The Tinder Swindler, a two-hour movie, and The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman, a three-episode series.

     The Tinder Swindler is about a con man (see photo above) who swindles women on, yes, Tinder. He introduces himself as a billionaire and impresses his target with his opulent lifestyle—like taking them on a ride with his private jet or treating them to a posh restaurant. He then will tell them story about his enemies who are after him, and how these enemies will eventually get control of his finances and how he will need to borrow some money. I don’t know, red flags about him are waving immediately everywhere. Firstly, why would a handsome billionaire be on Tinder? That would just expose him to some con artists and psychos. And a handsome billionaire will not go looking for love; it’s love which will come looking for a handsome billionaire. The only reason a gorgeous billionaire will be connected to Tinder is if he owns this app.

     And why would a billionaire borrow money from a woman he has known only for a few weeks? A billionaire, for sure, will also have billionaire friends. He can borrow from them. Why harass a minimum wage earner? You’re the only one this billionaire trusts? That’s flat out funny. Besides, a billionaire with enemies, for sure, will do something to make sure that he will never ever be cash-strapped to the point that he will shamelessly borrow money from ordinary individuals, like having some secret safe or deposits here and there. That’s why he is a billionaire, he knows how to take care of his money.

     Still, these women, inexplicably, really went out of their way to make huge loans (which they couldn’t afford to pay) just to send him money. Maybe, love really makes you blind and gullible, really. Or maybe—I don’t want to victim-blame here— but maybe, these women were expecting some kind of a really huge windfall here, especially if the billionaire in question is generous. One of the women in the docu had sex with him on their first meeting, after he dazzled her with a private jet ride. Many poor men won't be allowed to touch a woman's finger even after years of courtship.

     But then, some women really have the tendency to fall for extremely complicated men: con men, married men, even prisoners convicted of heinous crimes.

    I haven’t finished watching The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman, but it seems that the conman here is a lot more cunning, heartless and psychotic.