A woman who was involved with a notorious Tinder scammer who abused some of his victims has shared some of the warning signs she observed during their relationship.
Christopher Harkins used Tinder to connect with women, build their trust, and then deceive them into sending him large sums of money.
He presented himself as a wealthy businessman, enjoying luxurious vacations and living an extravagant lifestyle.
However, many of his victims soon heard claims about issues with his bank account being frozen. Harkins would ask women to transfer funds to another account, promising to repay the amount shortly.
Unfortunately, these promises were never fulfilled.
A new Prime Video documentary titled “Catching The Tinder Predator” outlines Harkins’ exploits and features Jak Reid, 39, who dated Harkins. Upon matching with him on Tinder, she was immediately drawn to him, noting that they shared common interests, which made conversations engaging.
The first date was a success, as Jak recounted: “The first date we went to a comedy club, and then we went to the casino. At the time, I think the only thing that really stood out was that he was quite blasé with money. But some people are like that. There were no red flags on the first date.”
A warning sign emerged on a subsequent date when Jak paid the bill while Harkins was away.
“I paid the bill at the restaurant and he got a bit aggressive, that was my first huge red flag,” Jak explained.
In the documentary, Jak described Harkins leaving the restaurant in anger and taking a taxi home, an unexpected reaction to what was intended as a kind act.
“I’ve never had any guy be in any form that aggressive with me. I was quite shocked at that, but I did continue to see him after he apologized,” she noted.
The final straw came when Jak was asked to transfer money to Harkins.
She recounted: “I was at work. It was a Sunday, and he sent me this random message and asked me to transfer money into a random bank account, which I now know was his step-dad’s.
“He said it was for his friend who was taking a girl that he’d been seeing away for a romantic weekend, and that his bank account was frozen and that he’d give the cash later.”
Jak stated: “Straight away I knew it was some kind of scam. I just didn’t know the scale of it at the time.”
Harkins admitted to fraud charges in January 2024 after defrauding nine women of more than $287,000 collectively.
In a May 2024 trial, the court was informed that Harkins had raped a former partner while she was asleep.
Additionally, he was found guilty of recording two women in private situations without their consent and then sharing the explicit content.
Harkins received a 12-year prison sentence in July 2024.
If you are impacted by any of the issues discussed in this article, you can reach out to The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), which is available 24/7. Alternatively, online chat support is available at online.rainn.org.