[imagesource: Instagram / simon_leviev_official]

Instagram is full of fake profiles for Simon Leviev, real name Shimon Hayut.

This one misspells ‘official’ in its handle and has, at the time of writing, duped 1,4 million people into following.

Here’s one with 15 000 or so followers, another with 210 000, and 27 000 followers on this imposter.

Nothing sums up the mess that is social media more than people rushing to create fake profiles for a renowned crook, likely so that they can one day flog them to a brand for promotion.

How do you sift through all of the noise to see if any of these are genuine?

The Tab has done the hard work:

Simon Leviev has confirmed his original Instagram account is back up and running. He’s posted some new photos to the account, and a video explaining that it is now his only social media profile…

In an Instagram story post, Simon Leviev posted to say he had his account back, and any other profiles claiming to be his are fake. He confirmed Instagram is the only social media he owns, and the TikTok which has gone viral claiming to be him isn’t his.

That story is no longer live but the account is still up.

The most recent post is from yesterday:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Simon Leviev (@simon_leviev_official)

Unlike many other accounts claiming to be genuine, the posts on the above account date way, way back.

Look who was in Cape Town in July 2020:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Simon Leviev (@simon_leviev_official)

After The Tinder Swindler hit Netflix, Leviev posted a video on an Instagram story of a new account that claimed the original profile had been hacked and he had now started a new one.

He now appears to have access to the original.

There’s another reason to believe this is genuine:

His account is followed by his new girlfriend, Kate Konlin, and she has been liking his new posts.

His account has now also been updated to have an email address for a new manager in his bio.

Kate Konlin, according to Luxury Launches, is an Israeli model who last posted on Instagram on January 22:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kate KONLIN (@kate_konlin)

In the past, she has been seen “travelling around with Leviev in a Rolls-Royce on his Instagram Stories”:

Konlin revealed in an interview with Israeli magazine Mako in July 2021 that he contacted her via Instagram in November 2020 and pursued her for four months before she met him. However, she claims the Tinder Swindler told her everything about his past and reputation…

Konlin insisted that claims about the man, who has faked being the son of an Israeli diamond tycoon, didn’t match up to his apparently generous nature.

“The sums they said he stung were equal to the gifts he buys me on Saturday,” Konlin told Mako in 2021. “It’s absurd, why should he take a girl for tens of thousands when he spends such a sum as a matter of routine? It does not make sense.”

As long as you’re being treated well then to hell with the rest, right?

Never mind that three women have had to resort to a GoFundMe campaign to pay their debts.

Last year, Konlin said the pair had split up but they were seen together on his Instagram Stories following the release of the documentary.

[sources:tab&luxurylaunches]