The saying goes that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is – and that's certainly the case when it comes to online dating.
Research from ExpressVPN has shown that as many as 22 percent of Brits have fallen victim to catfishing in their lifetime.
While catfishing can take place on virtually any online platform, Tinder remains one of the top apps where perpetrators prey on unsuspecting victims.
One person who knows all too well how easy it is to be misled on the dating app is Cecilie Fjellhoy, who was famously duped by the 'Tinder Swindler'.
Now Ms Fjellhoy has spoken to MailOnline about her experiences, in the hope of preventing anyone else from being scammed.
One person who knows all too well how easy it is to be tricked on the dating app is Cecilie Fjellhoy, who was famously duped by the 'Tinder Swindler'
Ms Fjellhoy, 34, is a user experience designer from Norway, and was one of many women fooled into thinking Shimon Heyada Hayut (pictured), from Israel, was the son of a billionaire diamond trader after she met him on Tinder.
Ms Fjellhoy, 34, is a user experience designer from Norway, and was one of many women fooled into thinking Shimon Heyada Hayut, from Israel, was the son of a billionaire diamond dealer after meeting him on Tinder had met.
The convicted conman would use the money he obtained from other victims to impress single women with an expensive lifestyle and lavish gifts.
Incredibly, he is believed to have conned women out of a total of around £7.4 million.
Speaking to MailOnline, Ms Fjellhoy said: 'As far as my experience goes, we met on Tinder and honestly fell in love.
'Great dates and hundreds of great messages and videos.
“We met in person several times while he was traveling the world as CEO of a major diamond company.”
Ms Fjellhoy says there were early warning signs that his business was not the safest.
“After a while, he told me that he was in danger from threats from his competitors and that he could get hurt if he used one of his own credit cards,” she explained.
'That's why he asked if he could use my cards and also wanted me to take out loans to fill them up.
“He promised he would pay me back as soon as it was safe.
Ms Fjellhoy has spoken to MailOnline about her experiences in the hope of preventing anyone else from being scammed
Although catfishing can take place on virtually any online platform, Tinder remains one of the top apps where perpetrators prey on unsuspecting victims
“After all, he was a multi-millionaire, so I trusted him.
“But I ended up getting scammed out of almost $200,000. I felt humiliated, ashamed and remorseful.”
While you might think Ms Fjellhoy's case sounds unique, a survey of 2,000 Brits by ExpressVPN revealed just how widespread catfishing really is.
Twenty-two percent of respondents said they had fallen victim to catfish in their lifetime; a quarter of them had spoken to the perpetrator for more than a year before realizing they were a catfish.
Additionally, 12 percent of victims said they had been scammed out of money or gifts.
“The positive thing is that since I told my story on The Tinder Swindler, so many people – both men and women – have come forward with similar stories,” Ms Fjellhoy said.
“It's quite shocking to see how often this happens.”
Ms Fjellhoy has now revealed the warning signs you should look out for to avoid falling victim to a romance scam.
“First of all, if someone sounds too good to be true, chances are they don't really exist,” she said.
“We all have imperfections in one form or another – there really is no such thing as the 'perfect profile'.”
On a more practical level, Ms. Fjellhoy recommends doing a reverse image search on anyone's photos that you think is a catfish.
“This is an easy way to see if the photos of the person you're talking to actually belong to someone else,” she added.
Finally, Ms. Fjellhoy says she used a VPN to add an extra layer of protection.
“(A VPN) ensures that your IP address is masked at all times, protecting your location and privacy and keeping you safe online,” she said.