Having been scammed by an impersonator billionaire in a now-viral Netflix doc, “The Tinder Swindler,” Pernilla Sjöholm is turning the tables. Alongside computer scientist Suejb Memeti, Sjöholm co-founded IDfier, an innovative platform that claims to halt online cons before they are initiated.
To verify identities safely and easily, IDfier might become the frontline against romance scams, deepfakes, and digital identity impersonation.
An Identity Tool That Blocks Scams
From Victim to Vigilante: Tinder Swindler Survivor Launches IDfier to
IDfier
IDfier is a mobile application that enables users to authenticate their identity through official documents such as passports or driver’s licenses. Through NFC scanning and head movements using biometrics, the tool identifies genuine users with 99.9% accuracy.
After authentication, users can send or receive identity verification requests, selecting which personal information, such as name, age, or phone number, to disclose.
All the information is encrypted and kept on several secure servers, so it is virtually impossible to spoof or steal identities. This is not limited to dating apps, however — the system can be used on social media, email, and online shopping platforms as well.
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Why Real Verification is Needed in a World Full of Deepfakes
According to The Next Web, Sjöholm’s interest in protecting digital identity isn’t merely business — it’s personal. Having been conned and left broke by scammer Simon Leviev, she knows the psychological damage that fraud can leave.
Sjöholm said that beyond the scam, he felt emotionally abused by the scammer.
“When you experience fraud, you feel very embarrassed, you feel a lot of shame, and there’s so much hatred towards victims. I think people try to make themselves feel better by thinking that it doesn’t happen to smart people and wouldn’t happen to them. Actually, someone who says that is more likely to become a target,” she added.
With the rise of synthetic identities and AI-generated deepfakes, Sjöholm warns that the threat is growing. She warned everyone that it’s now hard to distinguish if the ones we’re talking to on the screen are still humans.
A Mission Fueled by Experience and Backed by Investors
IDfier is not merely a product. For Sjöholm, it’s a revolution. With backing from Swedish government-owned Almi Invest and Visive Invest, the company has already acquired serious credibility. Sjöholm is COO, with Memeti as CEO. Their mission: knock identity fraud to its knees.
Widely available worldwide on the App Store and Google Play, IDfier is a subscription service beginning at only $2 per month. The family plan is $7/month for up to five individuals — a rate made to afford digital safety for everyone.
A Billion-Dollar Problem with a Billion-Dollar Solution?
Scams cost consumers more than $1 trillion a year, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA). Sjöholm is convinced that if systems like IDfier can reduce the use of fake identities from 60% to 5%, the economic benefits will be revolutionary.
She would also like to provide IDfier for free to students, who are often targeted by scam artists. Furthermore, she revealed that the scary part about scams is that 95% of the teens she met talked to strangers online.
Sjöholm will return to Amsterdam, her city, but this time not as a victim, but as a protector. She considered this opportunity a “full-circle moment.”
With IDfier, Sjöholm isn’t merely recovering from her past — she’s remaking the future of internet safety.
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